Food insecurity is increasing rapidly in Toronto. According to the Daily Bread Food Bank, in 2024 millions of people visited the food banks and the numbers are only getting worse. Neil Hetherington, the CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, said they have seen almost 13,000 additional people visit the food banks each month. He said this situation is alarming. Food Bank use began rising during the COVID-19 pandemic due to an affordability crisis which was caused by high rates of inflation, increased housing costs, and a rough job market.
Students are among those most affected by the crisis. In this time of inflation, colleges and universities are trying to support their students which may help them in managing their expenses. Bruce who is an art student at Seneca Polytechnic says, “Every month I must suffer. I have a tight budget every month. I go shopping and even in two to three things I become out of budget. Some days I just rely on coffee.” Inflation is solely responsible for food insecurity in Toronto. Another student says, “It’s hard to manage in this time when you have high rents, inflated prices of groceries and much more on your plate. It’s hard to manage.” These challenges are the reason why students seek support from their institutions if they have assistance programs.
An institution like Seneca Polytechnic has a food support system which provides gift cards and food hampers each month. In a month they support 600 students, the ones who are truly in need of help. Sebastian Vasquez, The Vice President of Seneca Student Federation said, “Students that are in actual need who do not have a job, who do not have any kind of support from government or from their parents or their spouses. So, we try to help a little bit. Acknowledging that we are not a food bank itself. We help our students who are in need. We have a food support program for Seneca students.”
While Seneca’s food support program serves many students, it also faces limitations. For instance, the spots fill up quickly which leaves some students without the assistance they immediately need. It shows that there is high demand for food support programs in Seneca Polytechnic. Vasquez said, “We see thousands of applications each month, but we have limitations, we can not support each one of them.” Seneca students say not all of them get a chance to get support from this food support program because the spots fill quicky and they must wait until next month. Danielle, a student of Business communication said, “I signed up for the Seneca food support program. It helps for some days but after that I have to face the same situation. There are several things you get from Seneca food support. Some pasta, veggies, sometimes fruits. It is not enough for the whole month but two weeks or so.”
The financial challenges faced by the students not only impacts the physical and mental health of students like Bruce and Danielle but also affects their academic performance. To address this crisis, long-term solutions are required to deal with the underlying causes of food insecurity.
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