VANCOUVER, BC (May 9, 2017) – To address food insecurity in Nova Scotia, students from Saint Mary’s University created Square Roots, a community-supported agriculture program that encourages individuals to subscribe to healthy and affordable produce bundles. The program also provides employment opportunities to at-risk youth across Halifax.
Enactus Saint Mary’s has been awarded the 2017 Hellmann’s Food Security Challenge Best Project by Enactus Canada and Unilever Canada’s Hellmann’s brand. The award presentation took place today at the 2017 Enactus Canada National Exposition in Vancouver.
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“We need locally-inspired and innovative thinking to address the issue of food insecurity in Canada and we appreciate the passion and creativity of the Enactus teams that participated in this challenge” said Matt Price, Director, Unilever Canada. “The idea put forward by the Enactus Saint Mary’s team demonstrates that ingenuity and dedication to this issue and will help increase Nova Scotian residents’ access to healthier and more affordable food.”
The Hellmann’s Food Security Challenge, new this year, was designed to recognize and reward Enactus teams that address food insecurity, while creating social and economic opportunities that will strengthen the well-being of communities. Four teams have been selected to receive $15,000 in total funding.
“We are proud to recognize Enactus Saint Mary’s for using business innovation to tackle food insecurity in Nova Scotia, a province that maintains one of the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada. We thank Unilever and Hellmann’s for supporting young people in their mission to improve people’s lives,” said Nicole Almond, President of Enactus Canada.
Three additional awards were also given:
- Memorial University of Newfoundland received the National Runner Up Award for their Project SucSeed.
- NAIT received the Best New Project Award for The Growcer.
- University of British Columbia – Okanagan received the Best Project Solution Award for their initiative, Roots.
The Hellmann’s Food Security Challenge Best Project was awarded at the 2017 Enactus Canada National Exposition, where more than 1,500 delegates including the country’s brightest university and college students, academic professionals and top Canadian CEOs came together to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world.
For competition results during the event, please follow @Enactus_Canada on Twitter. All event results will also be published on enactus.ca/events/national-exposition.
ABOUT ENACTUS CANADA: Enactus Canada, the country’s largest post-secondary experiential learning platform, is shaping entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 2,734 entrepreneurial post-secondary students led 280 community empowerment projects and business ventures last year in communities coast to coast. As a global network of 36 countries, Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world.
ABOUT UNILEVER CANADA:
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. In Canada, the Unilever portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe®, Becel®, Ben & Jerry’s®, Breyers®, Degree®, Dove® personal care products, Hellmann’s®, Klondike®, Knorr®, Lipton®, Magnum®, Nexxus®, Popsicle®, Q-Tips®, Simple®, St. Ives®, TRESemmé®, and Vaseline®. All of the preceding brand names are owned or used under license by Unilever Canada Inc.
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
Unilever ranked number one in its sector on the 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
For more information on Unilever Canada and its brands visit: www.unilever.ca
To connect with Unilever Canada via Twitter follow: @unilever_Canada
Media inquiries:
Jen Falzon
Enactus Canada
jen@enactus.ca
(416) 315-2099