Keely O’Neill, co-Director of Events for Students for Direct Action, is part of a student-led movement tackling food insecurity at the University of Calgary. Through grassroots organising, the club provides hundreds of free meals each month and runs an on-campus food pantry to support students struggling with rising costs.
Since its founding in 2021, food insecurity on campus has worsened due to inflation and increasing tuition, prompting the group to expand its meal services and outreach. Despite these efforts, the need continues to grow. O’Neill and her team advocate for the university to take greater responsibility in addressing student hunger while continuing to offer barrier-free access to healthy food.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Students for Direct Action is a University of Calgary club that uses grassroots organising tactics to address inequities on campus. Our main initiative currently is addressing food insecurity by providing hundreds of free meals to students every month and a free, on-campus food pantry.
What problem does it aim to solve?
The main problem we aim to solve is reducing food insecurity on our campus.
When did you start/join it?
I joined Students for Direct Action in October of 2023.
What made you want to get involved?
I wanted to get involved because I saw how many issues like food insecurity and the general rising cost of living were affecting students. I wanted to be able to make a difference and address this problem head-on.
What was the situation like when you started?
When Students for Direct Action was first founded in 2021, food insecurity at the University of Calgary was already a major problem. A survey done by the charity Meal Exchange found that nearly 2/3 of UofC students reported experiencing some level of food insecurity.
How has it changed since?
Although there are no new comprehensive surveys that touch on the issue, the exponential increase in the cost of housing, food, and tuition over the past 4 years certainly has exacerbated the issue. Our club has more than doubled the amount of meals we serve every month over the past 2 years and created a free on-campus pantry, but this is clearly still not meeting the needs of our fellow students.
What more needs to be done?
We believe that the University of Calgary has a responsibility to meet the needs of its students and improve its resources for food-insecure students. Currently, there are a number of low-cost food options on campus, but no free, ready-made meals are provided by the university directly. We believe this is unacceptable. In the meantime, Students for Direct Action will continue to directly support our campus community and provide barrier-free access to healthy, ready-made meals and snacks.
How can our readers help?
Readers can help by donating to Students for Direct Action. Our organisation is funded solely by members of the Calgary community and would not be possible without their generosity! If people are interested in donating, they can send us an e-transfer at studentsfordirectaction@gmail.com. In addition to financial support, our meal services are completely volunteer-run. If readers are UCalgary students or Alumni, they are welcome to volunteer and help us out by cooking and serving meals for our events. Volunteers are not expected to have any cooking or food handling experience, or stay throughout the entire volunteer shift. We offer a friendly and flexible environment for volunteers to help out! To stay in the loop with our upcoming volunteer opportunities and help spread the word, readers can follow us on our Instagram account.
Do you have any events coming up?
Check out our Instagram page for more details about upcoming events.
Where can we follow you?
You can follow us on Instagram
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
We absolutely love Zero Food Waste Calgary and Good Neighbour Community Market!
