Students voted in the Spring of 2020 to pay a fee of $0.70 per credit that goes towards this program. Originally intended to support a food bank service and a student job to manage the service, this program was amended in 2020 to operate as an emergency grocery card program noting the limitations of a functioning food bank on campus amidst COVID-19 precautions. This fund is intended to support short-term, emergency needs and all students who apply will be connected with support systems in the Durham region to address any long-term needs as required.
As a result of COVID-19, Trent University Durham-GTA paused the Durham Regional Transit bus pass ancillary fee for the Fall 2020 semester. To support those that still require use of public transit, the TDSA developed this fund intended to address the temporary gap in service using unfulfilled funds from events cancelled in the 2019/20 year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
