Campus Food Revolution: Electric Trucks, Student Activism, and the Future of Food Access
This week, we joined nearly 7,000 scholars, students, and community builders at Congress 2025, hosted by George Brown College in Toronto. Specifically, we connected deeply with the Canadian Association for Food Studies (CAFS) and our longtime partner, Dr. Pam Farrell from GROW Community Food Literacy Centre.
An Electric Moment for Mobile Markets
We proudly joined GROW in presenting North America’s first fully electric mobile market truck, designed by Farmers’ Truck. Seeing students and campus visitors instantly drawn to the fresh food truck was powerful. Food brings people together!
While earlier surveys estimated campus food insecurity rates around 30% pre-pandemic, more recent reports suggest that rates now range from 29% to as high as 56%, with even higher rates among international students, first-gen students, and racialized communities. Inflation, rising tuition, and limited access to campus food services continue to deepen the crisis.
Campus Realities, Bold Student Responses
The CAFS session “Reimagining Campus Food Systems” hit hard. Canadian campuses face stark food insecurity realities, with more than half of students at major universities lacking reliable access to cooking facilities and nutritious food options. But students aren’t waiting for administrators to solve these problems.
Instead, they’re driving change through impactful social enterprises and initiatives like:
CultivAction: Innovating regenerative agriculture and urban farming at Concordia University.
The Hive Café Co-op: Championing democratic, sustainable campus food models.
Le Frigo Vert: Challenging corporate food systems with quality vegetarian offerings.
The People’s Potato: Serving over 500 donation-based vegan meals daily, directly tackling hunger.
Witnessing these student-led movements reinforced something crucial: real progress in campus food security emerges when solutions are bold, community-driven, and rooted in genuine care. From Pam’s groundbreaking electric mobile market to Concordia’s collective kitchens and co-ops, it’s clear that transformative change starts with committed people deciding to make it happen.
Food access is social justice in action. Let’s keep growing.
If you’re a student or campus staff passionate about tackling food insecurity, reach out! We’re launching a dedicated campus program and would greatly value your feedback and ideas.
Good Food. Good Mood. Let's keep rolling! 🚛🍓🥦
#CampusFoodJustice #MobileMarket #FoodInsecurity #StudentActivism #SocialEnterprise #FoodSovereignty #ElectricVehicles #FoodAsMedicine #FarmersTruck