Cost of living | The students remain unsatisfied

Inflation forces more students to turn to food banks, which struggle to keep up with demand

Tuition fees, textbooks and school supplies: Back to school is usually an expensive time for students.

Add inflation and an affordable housing crisis, and many are forced to tighten their already modest budgets.

“I find it very difficult to do my grocery shopping. I buy almost nothing, ”says Marie-Laurence Therrien, sitting in the grass near the Cégep du Vieux Montréal, where she studies.

“Everything is expensive, so expensive. Now, we need to consume less. You have to buy the essentials, ”says Hassan Mohmmed, doctoral student in religious sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

Even when reducing their expenses to a minimum, students have to turn to food banks, which are overwhelmed by demand.

At UQAM, the Food Bac helps an average of 150 students in need each week. By paying $10, students leave with a box of food worth $100.

“Each time I open the reservations, in 24 to 48 hours, it is sold out,” reports Manal Sares, coordinator at the Association of Students of the School of Management, which manages the Bac.

This year, his team must do more… with less. Its main supplier, Moisson Montreal, is also affected by inflation and the labor shortage.

“I receive several e-mails from students who cannot pass a baccalaureate [alimentaire], sometimes even people from other universities. We cannot help everyone,” laments Manal.

More requests in student cities

With the start of the academic year, organizations are seeing an increase in demand, notes Food Banks of Quebec spokesperson Claudia Gastonguay.

After a decline observed in recent years (probably attributable to distance learning), the number of students enrolled at Moisson Rimouski-Neigette jumped by 50% between March 2021 and March 2022.

“It’s a marked increase. I can tell you that there hasn’t been a week where I haven’t had a student come to the office to register since returning to university, ”says its director general, Marie-Ève ​​St-Pierre. .

This year, the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi called on Moisson Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean to help students.

According to the director general of the organization, Yanick Soumis, between 200 and 300 students could benefit from this partnership.

“That’s a lot of requests in a short time, and this is the first time we have had this kind of request,” he says.

“Immense financial stress”

Inflation or not, many students live in a precarious financial situation, recalls Maya Labrosse, president of the Quebec Collegiate Student Federation (FECQ).

According to a national survey conducted by the FECQ in 2021, one in three student tenants considers that they do not have enough money to meet their needs.

“In 2022, it must be even worse”, fears M^me Labrosse, who notices “tremendous financial stress” among his members.

Groceries aren’t the only bill that’s gone up. Rising rents are also difficult to pay for students who have no choice but to work. And sometimes more than they would like.

“I can’t get away with less than 20 hours a week,” says Daphné Chartier, whom I met at UQAM.

In addition to her full-time studies in visual arts, the young woman works in a bar and a grocery store. To make ends meet, she does “cleaning up on the side”.

Improve financial aid?

In 2020-2021, just over 127,100 students benefited from financial aid for studies, reports the Ministry of Higher Education.

For the moment, Quebec is not observing an increase in requests in 2022. “On the contrary, we are seeing a drop in the number of requests for financial assistance for studies”, indicates the spokesperson for the ministry, Bryan St-Louis, without specifying what order the drop was.

Currently, the government provides $1,013 per month for housing, food and travel, for a student who does not live with his parents and who is entitled to the maximum loans and bursaries.

Set up during the pandemic to give students some breathing space, a bonus of $205 per month has been extended until 2023.

“I doubt that’s enough,” said Samy-Jane Tremblay, president of the Quebec Student Union (UEQ).

This fall, the QSU will conduct a major survey on student financing and indebtedness. “It will allow us to make recommendations to the ministry supported by figures,” explains Ms.^me Tremblay.

“We need help to help everyone there”

Food banks in Quebec are struggling to meet demand, which has increased by half since the pandemic. They also see their reserves of foodstuffs diminish, due to inflation.

Demand at food banks in Quebec has increased by 50% since the start of the pandemic, indicates the latest annual report from Food Banks of Quebec. Each month, more than 600,000 people use the network.

In the Quebec region, for the past two years, the number of people who have been served by food assistance each month by Moisson Quebec has jumped from 35,000 to 68,000, notes Élaine Côté, general manager of Moisson Quebec. “We are completely elsewhere,” she laments. We need help to help everyone there. »

In 2021, 12% of the clientele of Entraide Agapè, which offers food assistance services in Quebec, had employment income. This year, workers represent 29% of the clientele, indicates Geneviève Beaubien, communications manager for the organization.

Due to inflation, which reached 7% in August, food banks’ reserves of foodstuffs are in sharp decline. The rising cost of living also affects the operating costs of organizations, emphasizes Geneviève Beaubien.

Before the pandemic, in addition to food donations, Moisson Québec purchased $200,000 worth of food per year to meet demand. Today, the organization must spend some $1.2 million a year to ensure the offer, underlines Élaine Côté.

In the Montreal region, foodstuffs from agricultural producers, processors and grocery stores are becoming increasingly rare, says Éliane Larouche, communications manager at Moisson Montreal. “You really see a difference,” she says. At the moment, we are having difficulty supplying on demand. »

Same scenario in the region

The problem is the same, beyond the major urban centers of the province. Moisson Estrie, limited in its supply of foodstuffs, operates at only 60% of its capacity, indicates general manager Christian Bibeau. According to him, the demand for food assistance continues to grow, as income does not increase as quickly as essential expenses.

“People who were already in a precarious situation or who were already weakened are now even further from being able to get their heads out of the water. The needs are exacerbated,” laments Christian Bibeau.

The Carrefour d’initiatives populaires de Rivière-du-Loup must also spend more to buy food, in order to meet the growing demand and compensate for the drop in donations of food products, underlines Karine Jean, director general of the organization.

She also notes a significant increase in food insecurity among seniors.

According to Élaine Côté, there needs to be an increase in government financial assistance to organizations. Currently, only 5% of Moisson Québec’s financial resources come from the provincial government, she adds. “In the short term, we need emergency funding to buy food. Tomorrow morning, we have to deliver the goods. »

Last of the food chain

Moisson Montreal, which receives food surpluses from its partners, has noticed a significant drop in non-perishable dry foods, says Éliane Larouche.

Since food bank reserves are based in particular on donations from partners, changes such as the rise in the price of gas compromise the food surpluses of companies, at the risk of reducing the quantity of food in organizations, explains Geneviève Marchand, Deputy Director of Moisson Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec.

Inflation particularly affects food banks since they find themselves at the end of the supply chain, after producers and consumers. Difficult access to raw materials and rising production and transportation costs are forcing companies to minimize waste, says Élaine Côté.

“Companies are not less generous, they are more efficient. There are fewer errors, so less surplus,” she adds.