Holland College Student SKILLit program sells out in first week
Meal kits offer affordable, pre-portioned meals to students across campuses
A new meal kit program at Holland College has sold out within its first week of launching.
The college created a new meal kit service, SKILLit, last October.
Students are given bags with pre-portioned ingredients, a recipe card, with each bag including gift cards to grocery stores.
The program offers a cheap way for students to eat nutritious meals, as kits cost $50 for 11 meals over the semester.
Kayden Klose, a second-year occupational therapist assistant and physiotherapist assistant student at Holland College, said the meals fit in with her busy schedule.
“I like that it’s so cheap, and they basically give you all the ingredients that you need, and, like, a step-by-step process, so you don’t really have to wonder what to do,” said Klose.
Klose, a member of Holland College’s women’s volleyball team, said the kits are convenient because she doesn’t have to plan every meal or make frequent trips to the grocery store.
“Sometimes when you just had no motivation to do anything, all the ingredients are right here. I barely need to do anything, like, it’s really good. And then you always have leftovers,” Klose said.
While the kits are sent to multiple Holland College campuses, the majority are handed out by Leone Dixon at the Prince of Wales Campus in the McMillan Centre for Community Engagement.
“Student SKILLit is very much akin to what people would know as HelloFresh or Goodfood, except it’s just one meal and not multiple,” Dixon said.
The program has also helped students’ families try new foods.
“I had one mother who said her child was very texture sensitive, and the child was actually eating foods that they hadn’t eaten before,” Dixon said.
All bags are packaged at the Tourism & Culinary Centre by Jillian Trainor.
Trainor individually packages about 70 orders each week for students, a process that takes several hours.
“My favourite part is making the meals and then distributing them, because I get to see the students it’s helping…I like being able to ask them how it was and get that feedback directly,” said Trainor.
Students who are less comfortable in the kitchen can scan a QR code on the recipe card to watch an instructional video.
“These meals are really easy to make, especially for students who aren’t confident cooks. We give the exact amount you need, so there’s no guesswork. You just follow the recipe, and it works,” Trainor said.
At the end of the first semester, students were given a survey to rate the quality of the service.
Trainor said feedback was positive.
“There were general questions where people could share their thoughts, and then questions about each individual recipe, said Trainor. “We got comments like, ‘This is a good program for students and should be continued,’ and ‘I hope this program comes back.”’
Trainor said the college plans to continue offering Student SKILLit meal kits after the positive response from students during its first semester.