Food assistance services | Demand is rising among students

Rising rents and the cost of groceries are weighing heavily on Quebec university students. Thousands of them are turning to food assistance services to help feed themselves. The growing demand is causing concern among community organizations, which are not always able to provide enough.

“In total, 75% of my food at home comes from the food bin.” However, Béatrice Perron works full time, in addition to being a bachelor’s student in history at UQAM. “I don’t go to the grocery store, it costs way too much,” she explains. In addition to her university’s food bins, which allow her to get basic foods at a low price, she benefits from free meals served at her workplace.

Similar situations are spreading across the province.

Ten years ago, post-secondary students represented 5.8% of users of food aid organizations in Quebec. By 2023, this figure had climbed to 9.5%, according to the most recent Hunger Count survey published by the Food Banks of Quebec.

With the shutdown of several services during the summer, the situation is getting worse for some students. “I expect, this summer, to have a record in the use of our food services by the student community,” says the general director of the community organization Multicaf, Jean-Sébastien Patrice.

On campuses

During school sessions, 200 food containers are distributed to UQAM students each week. The same number are distributed to students at the Université de Montréal. At Concordia University, student organizations serve more than 600 free meals daily. An organization at McGill University offers more than 200 per week.

And they are struggling to meet demand.

When the People’s Potato free lunch service comes to Concordia University, “the line goes all the way around the floor,” says student Bernice Djaballah, who receives the meals.

At the Sphère de services, which offers the food bin at UQAM, the speed at which food baskets are sold is accelerating and the waiting lists have been getting longer over the last two years. “We are opening [les inscriptions] Friday noon. Friday, end of day, there are practically none left. Sometimes, it will make it to Monday, but it is rare,” explains general manager Daniel Vandal.

As a result, students are left hungry. Béatrice Perron would like to pick up a food box every week, but her busy schedule has difficulty aligning with the limited availability of food. “Sometimes I miss it. If I’m at work, I can’t reserve it quickly enough.”

During the summer period, the UQAM food bin is no longer offered, like many other university food aid services. Some students then try to find additional resources for the coming months. “I definitely have to look elsewhere,” says Béatrice Perron, who has to turn to community organizations.

Community services at their wit’s end

“The situation is urgent,” laments the organization’s director of frontline services. À deux mains, Bita Eslami. Located in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district, À deux mains offers various social services, particularly to young people aged 12 to 25, including many students.

The use of emergency food boxes has increased by 170% in the last year.

This observation echoes at Moisson Montréal, which provides a large portion of food aid services. “In terms of the organizations’ resources, they are exhausted. They have limits in terms of their capacity to accommodate people,” confirms Éliane Larouche, communications advisor.

“One less stress”

Lucrezia Cavalli, a student at the Université de Montréal, has been going to the Multicaf solidarity grocery store since last winter. She buys a full basket of groceries for just $7 every two weeks.

Multicaf offers various social and food services to the Côte-des-Neiges community, including low-cost meals and groceries. Here too, demand has exploded. In 2019, only 2 students used its services. In 2024, there are now 112.

Having arrived in Montreal three years ago to study, Lucrezia Cavalli has noticed that her grocery bills have tripled since then. Since food is “one of the major concerns” in her budget, she pays close attention to all her expenses. “I avoid going out, I don’t go to restaurants, I try to do everything at home,” she says.

For the nutrition student, Multicaf’s products allow her to maintain a balanced diet, without eliminating healthy foods from her grocery store. “Either it’s the money or the quality of what you eat that will take a hit. It’s always one of the two.”

By supplementing her groceries with Multicaf products, she can afford a plate where proteins, fruits and vegetables are present. “As soon as I see that there is meat, I will take some right away. Same thing for dairy products, they are extremely expensive at the grocery store,” she explains.

For students like Lucrezia Cavalli and Béatrice Perron, who moved to Montreal for their studies, food assistance is essential support for “all the expenses associated with being away from family,” says Béatrice Perron.

The pressure is mounting

For many of these community organizations, student food insecurity is a major concern. Daniel Vandal is concerned that food aid is the only crutch separating precarious students from dropping out of university.

“We feel that we are the only ones who can help students with food. […] As an organization that offers services to students, we feel that we are essential at a stage of their studies, of their life.”

For others, it is the fate of the next generation that is at stake.

“This population is the future of tomorrow. But, at the same time, how can we fully concentrate on our studies and build a future when, at the moment, we have difficulty just feeding ourselves?” asks Multicaf’s general manager, Jean-Sébastien Patrice.