This fall, the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union Food Centre is bringing back the Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating to U of S students while also allowing them to benefit the people of Saskatoon.

This event, called Trick or Eat, has been a longstanding tradition of the Food Centre and will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 29. At its core, the event is a re-imagining of classic trick-or-treating but instead of going out to gather candy to fulfill one’s sweet tooth, students will go door-to-door gathering non-perishable food items for the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre. As the Food Bank is constantly looking to maintain its food stores, this event will help to increase food stability by ensuring that those in need will have food to access.

Mark Tan, co-ordinator of the Food Centre and third-year food science major, expanded on what Trick or Eat is all about.

“Trick or Eat is organized by Meal Exchange, which is a federally led charitable organization, so it’s a nationwide thing. A lot of universities are doing it as well, or even just communities. Every year we will go out and collect non-perishables for the Saskatoon Food Bank which we actually partner with to get out emergency hampers,” Tan said.

These emergency hampers, which contain two to three days worth of food, are accessible to anyone in need. This program allows people to maintain a healthy diet between paychecks. However, it is worth noting that these hampers are only available to a family or individual once every two weeks. Students who participate in Trick or Eat may be helping someone in need in Saskatoon or even a fellow student.

Tan spoke on how students can get involved with Trick or Eat.

“The big part that we really are looking for are students to go out to neighbourhoods to help collect the non-perishables. That’s the one big thing that we’re doing,” Tan said.

Any student is able to participate in Trick or Eat, and this year, thanks to Tan, the event has a brand new feature.

“This year I’m putting a wager against all the students who participate that if they manage to break last year’s record … I will come to school in drag on [Oct. 31],” Tan said.

According to Tan, last year’s record was 840 bags of groceries and around $400 in cash donations. While table recruitment in the Arts Tunnel finished on Oct. 21, students can still register up until the day of the event, although larger groups should aim to be registered in advance.

“If you’re just a small group, two or three people and you just want to sign up on the day itself, you can do that too. That’s what we have that 4 until 9 p.m. window for,” Tan said.

Tan explains that initiatives like these increase food security in the community by supporting organizations like the Food Bank that provide essential services to community members.

“We receive about more than 20 emergency food hamper [requests] every month and if the Food Bank doesn’t get support from the community in such a way like this, where else are we going to go to get help like that?” Tan said.

Apart from charity initiatives like Trick or Eat, Tan is also currently working on getting together a program in which students can purchase a $5 meal kit, providing students with quick access to groceries for one meal. This new program would join Food Centre initiatives like the Fresh Food Market that already work to provide more accessible food to students.

Students looking to get involved with Trick or Eat can email Mark Tan at foodcentre@ussu.ca.

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Jack Thompson / Staff Writer

Graphic: Lesia Karalash / Graphics Editor