The Chi Gamma chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity at the University of Calgary has opened its kitchen to serve meals and help students who are experiencing food insecurity.
Currently, in its pilot year, Chi Gamma has initiated a weekly soup kitchen that will be hosted on Fridays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
In an interview with the Gauntlet, Aaron Szymanowski, house manager for Chi Gamma, elaborates on this new initiative and what it entails.
“The underlying principle is that we have been hearing a lot about issues with food insecurity and making ends meet from rent and general inflation pressures, that students are having a difficult time supplying for themselves and being able to focus on their studies,” he said.
As a fraternity heavily involved in improving student experience on campus, Szymanowski remarks that aside from wanting to provide nutritious food for students, they also want to provide a way for them to engage with others while being able to unwind from the daily pressures of academic obligations.
“We want students to be able to mingle and bond over some food and a nice environment to hang out,” Szymanowski said.
“It also gives us a chance to connect with the student body and dispel some of the myths about fraternity and make it more relatable and relevant to students’ lives.”
Since this is a pilot year, the soup kitchen is purely a drop-in event for any student at the U of C, undergraduate or otherwise. Located just across the university train station, the Chi Gamma soup kitchen is located at 2668 Capitol Hill Crescent Northwest.
In the future, Szymanowski also expressed that they hope to partner up with surrounding and relevant organizations to hone in on the demographic that need the support the most.
