Meal Exchange Memories

" I think it is important for students to know that they can make a difference. The power to form a collective and work together can create lasting change. "

Sarangen Sathasivam, Student Leader & Campus Chapter Lead, 2010

“ I was able to have food when I was in dire straights and to share with a sole mom who really needed help. This really made a difference in my life and the life of my friend. What was so remarkable was there was no shame in saying I needed help. This was a beacon of light in a dark time, and showed me that people cared. Meal Exchange has been an example for me that organizations should approach helping people from a place of dignity. “

Elaine Laberge, Student Participant, 2020

"Meal Exchange empowered students across the country with the knowledge and expertise to support food security initiatives on their campuses. Witnessing and supporting the development of programming and educational opportunities was inspiring and meaningful work. "

Student Leader & Past Staff, 2016-2021

“I learned so much about grassroots community engagement, and how to translate data into tangible and accessible knowledge. More than that, I learned a lot from and connected with great people within my community.”

Alexandra Ages, Student Leader, 2017-2019

“I personally really enjoyed engaging students in the topic of food. Working as a student ambassador, I realized that good food connects people and strengthens bonds in the worse and best times. I felt a sense of community engaging with students. I also enjoyed collaborating with like minded individuals that are very passionate about food advocacy as well.”

Student Ambassador, 2021-2022

“ I still remember my first Summit in 2015, showing up and being in a room full of amazing students. Michael Waglay, an MX staffer at the time, stood at the front of the room and asked us to raise our hand if we’d ever worried about affording food or struggled to access food we could afford as students. Many people raised their hands. Michael said, “you’ve all experienced student food insecurity and that’s completely unacceptable.” This was such a rallying moment for me and others in the room to know that food insecurity among students might be common, but isn’t okay. This “aha” moment motivated me as I continued this work, knowing that student food insecurity should not be an inevitable part of accessing higher education.”

Merryn Maynard, Student Leader & National Staff, 2015-2019

“ Attending the Summits were amazing experiences that taught me so much not only about food systems, but about being a better person. The importance of community, knowing where you are and who’s land you’re living on, building relationships with likeminded student leaders - these are all things Meal Exchange supported which have helped me grow personally.

There was so much learning around racial justice through both Summits I attended that has caused me to be more aware and vigilant while navigating food spaces and food organizations. There were also key moments in my first Summit that created significant self-reflection on my own role as a cis white man in upholding systemic barriers to food and systems change. We had very insightful conversations that led to further conversations and actions with friends and colleagues about systemic racism in food systems and food organizations. “

Dallyn Cann, National Student Food Summit Attendee, 2018-2019

“ Since the Summer of 2018, Meal Exchange has become a fixture in my circle of food security connections. Events and emails have been a familiar place for me to connect with friends, activists, educators and ideas I shared with my communities in Halifax, Toronto and beyond! A memorable person throughout this journey has been Jaimie White, a fellow Nutrition student from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). We bonded over seeing nutrition as a route to a career beyond dietetics rather than an avenue into food security advocacy. The potential to mobilize youth in the food systems and community became an endearing part of our many encounters, including our home grounds in York Region. Many students at events and colleagues in Meal Exchange have become collaborators and friends outside the organization.

The importance of having youth-focused and led organizations like Meal Exchange is more than just representation. It's about giving youth the opportunity, resources and space to make representation turn into action! The best part of many events was the funding support - my most memorable trips were in 2019 with the Student Summit in Hamilton and BIPOC Storytelling workshop in Guelph. As a part of the organizing team, I could inform programming and gain insight into planning youth engagement that I carry with myself today. Shoutouts to Hansel, Shadyia, Mehdia, Joy, Merryn, and Marissa. Many more folks have been introduced to me, and me to them thanks to Meal Exchange’s national network!

Advocacy should live on beyond graduation and an organization closing down. Mobilizing leaders to take action and sustain the movement comes with passion, desire and instilled tools waiting to be passed on to the future of food security leaders! “

Gurneet Dhami, Committee Member & Campus Organizer, 2018-2021

“ Meal Exchange has been an enormous support and collaborator with us at Lakehead University! When we first began to talk to students about their experiences and think about the scope of the problem in 2016, my conversations with Merryn and Anita were so formative to understanding the issues around post secondary student food insecurity. The Students Feeding Change project led to a partnership and successful joint graduate student social justice studies conference with a social innovation lab in 2018 bringing so many different voices to the table, most importantly the students themselves! This work led to a university-led food security committee, driven by students, which continues to meet and strive towards improving students' access to food supports on campus.

MX staff Brittany and Jaimie, among others, have worked tirelessly to empower students to be the voice for student food security! Through the annual national food summits, surveys, and numerous paid positions on our campus, my students have benefited enormously from the opportunities provided by MX. Students have learned to advocate on the issues, develop leadership and communication skills, and build broader awareness of the problem, often through their own research! As a professor, I know these opportunities have been invaluable as community-based learning and research is the most impactful learning! My students will not forget their work with MX!

I will miss the collaborations I have had with MX, and I will miss my friendships with the dedicated staff. I have learned so much from MX! I'm sad to see the organization sunset because I know that the work must continue and it feels uncertain as to who will lead at a national level. The problems of post-secondary student food insecurity and student poverty are growing and it's a very difficult time for students and post-secondary institutions as support for public education wanes and individual costs rise. As a society, we need to support students and demand free, accessible public education! We can't lose sight of the economic and social benefits of a population that is well-fed and educated. Our democracy depends on it! I'm so thankful that MX has planted and watered many seeds with students, staff, supporters, and collaborators, and I look forward to seeing what emerges next! “

Barbara Parker, Faculty Partner at Lakehead University, 2016-2022

"MX was a strong example of the influence of a simple idea (Trick or Eat) on rallying a community to engage more deeply with a topic. It was also a good example of how community organizing could build more of a constituency for institutional change. “

Student Leader & Volunteer

“ Meal Exchange played a crucial role in shaping my future life and career path. I feel like I found MX at a pivotal moment and the knowledge I gained, people I met and topics I was made aware of steered me toward working with local food systems. Participating in two national summits was deeply impactful and I still have connections from them almost 10 years on. Ultimately I found that working with Meal Exchange enabled me to connect more to my schools administration to contribute to their overall food policy. Working on that level at university launched me toward work and research opportunities. There was no other program that gave me the ability to inform policy and explore food related topics, MX created the basis of my research that was later published. I credit MX leading me to my career working in markets and landing my dream job. I am now the public market manager at Ottawa markets managing Byward and Parkdale Public markets. “

Melanie Anderson, Student Leader

“ Meal Exchange has played such a transformative role in my life. While I didn't find MX until after my post-secondary years, I was able to experience the enormous impact it had on the student food network, campuses, and the food movement at large. Meal Exchange provided a platform for students to dream and co-create tangible change on their campuses and with local communities. As staff at MX, I was lucky enough to support students to build the future they wanted to see on their campuses and to inspire other organizations along the way. From engaging indigenous elders to guide our learning journey through the Decolonizing the Table Bookclub, to advocating for funding for student gardens and greenhouses, to addressing food justice and food insecurity through research, actions, and policy change on campus and in the community, students were always striving to make better possible. One of my favourite things about working at Meal Exchange was connecting with other organizations and sharing the inspiring actions of students. The impact students were having on campuses and the passion of the MX network always energized the network and inspired us all to work harder and have more fun in the process. I know the energy of students will continue to inspire the network at large, and I hope that students find networks to connect, resource, and support them to continue making changes on their campuses and in the world, as MX has for three decades. I am so grateful to everyone I met through Meal Exchange. I am forever changed by this organization. “

Sarah Archibald, MX National Staff, 2014-2018

“ The student leaders in MX’s network were at the centre of discussions about food security and sustainability on their campuses. They weren’t just at the table, in many cases, they were the ones creating the table and inviting everyone else to it— from campus staff, administrators, and faculty, to local producers and advocacy organizations, all the way to national food service companies. Students set a vision for what they believed was possible, and brought stakeholders together to figure out how to make it a reality— creating new campus policies, influencing RFPs and contracts, facilitating applied research courses, and building student-stakeholder collaborations that everyone could be proud of. “

Dana Lahey, Former Student Leader and National Staff, 2013-2018