The fight against food insecurity on campus
As food insecurity on campuses continues to rise, UTM’s Food Center works to ensure students have the support they need.
According to a new report from Food Banks Canada, food banks across Canada are experiencing an unprecedented surge in visitors, reaching the highest number of visitors since 1989.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, over one million people visited a food bank in Ontario an unprecedented 7.6 million times—a 134 per cent increase from the fiscal 2019 to 2020 year—according to a regional food-bank network, Feed Ontario. The network’s CEO, Carolyn Stewart, pointed to the surge in the cost of living, which has kept many trapped “in the cycle of poverty and living in circumstances that make it impossible to get their heads above water.”
Standing out is Mississauga, which experienced the largest growth in food bank usage in the province, with a usage increase over twice that of the provincial growth. According to Food Banks Mississauga, one in 13 Mississauga residents use a food bank, with almost a third of users being children. The city saw 421,000 visits to banks, which is an 80 per cent increase from last year.
Students often are at the intersection of the many contributors to food insecurity as they face academics, tuition costs, the rental market, and the scarcity of employment. As of late 2022, 44 per cent of post-secondary students in Canada were food insecure.
Amidst such circumstances, the University of Toronto Mississauga’s (UTM) Food Center, led by fourth-year forensic science and biology student Hailey Dubue and a team of dedicated volunteers, works to grow, manage, and distribute free food packages to students anonymously, all year around to ensure that students’ access to nutritious and conveniently priced food is never an arbiter of their academic success or personal well-being.
“The Food Center [at UTM] was established to help combat food insecurity on campus and create a confidential and stigma-free space accessible to all UTM students,” said Dubue in an interview with The Medium.
Every week, a small but passionate group of student volunteers gather in room 113, groceries in hand, packaging canned vegetables, stocking the fridge, organizing seedlings into packets, and greeting other students with a smile as they funnel their way into the center to pick up the week’s orders.
Huda Hashmi, a first-year student at UTM hoping to pursue a specialist in accounting or finance, recently started her volunteering journey with the Food Center. What started as a simple way to get involved on campus turned out to be a role where Hashmi could help others feel supported while gaining new experiences. “What really stood out to me is that students don’t have to show they need food or essential items. It’s available to everyone, no questions asked,” Hashmi stated.
The center also implements anonymous processes to combat the shame around economic insecurity, such as the opportunity for students to anonymously make food orders on a Google form. Drop-in confidential hours and discrete locations where students can pick up their orders also promote a culture of respect and sensitivity.
Furthermore, this past summer, a new plot of land said to be transformed into a food garden reopened near the McGrath residence. Currently, under the management of UTM’s Sustainability Office, the local garden encourages students to plant and cultivate fresh produce as a part of the UTM Food Center’s commitment to sustainability initiatives and combatting food insecurity.
The garden will complement the UTM Student Union and Food Centre Seed Library, which provides students with seeds, gardening equipment and education, and now, a fresh plot of land where they can see their gardening efforts flourish to life.
Individuals can order pre-packaged herbs, flowers, and vegetable seedlings, and whenever they’re ready, bring their gardening skills to life with the support and company of other like-minded folks.
Dubue also discussed the multi-faceted nature of food insecurity, calling it an umbrella term that doesn’t only include those who lack access to food but also “those who do not have regular access to safe and nutritious food options” or the necessary resources to grow their own food.
Since many UTM students lack suitable gardening spaces that would enable them to take control over their food, “the food garden would help bridge this gap in accessibility,” stated Dubue.
Opinion Editor (Volume 51); Associate Opinion Editor (Volume 50) — Mashiyat (Mash) is a third-year student studying Neuroscience and Professional Writing and Communication (PWC). As this year’s Opinion Editor, Mash hopes to use her writing, editorial, and leadership skills in supporting student journalism in the essential role it plays in fostering intellectual freedom and artistic expression on campuses. When she’s not writing or slaving away at school, Mash uses her free time cooking cultural dishes, striking up conversations with strangers, and being anxious about her nebulous career plans. You can connect with Mash on her LinkedIn.