Hit by inflation, more and more CEGEP and university students are turning to food banks to obtain basic products, but the reserves of these organizations are at a particularly low level.
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“It’s catastrophic what we’re going through right now, I don’t know what to do, which door to knock on. The number of people registered is increasing and the needs of the students are much greater,” explained Agnès Mbome, director of the organization Racine Croisée.
Alexandra Semillé and Alexia Cianamea, two young volunteers from the organization, also used food banks during their studies. They observe that more and more young people are experiencing food distress.
“Just last week, I have a student who came to get help and who didn’t even have the $7 needed to pay for the basket”, commented Alexandra Sémillé met in the basement of Racine Croisée.
Make ends meet
Emma Belliard, a young student met in the line outside the premises of the organization on rue Duluth, in Montreal, explains that several students are struggling to make ends meet. A friend told her about this organization.
“With the price of rents and studies, it is very difficult to arrive, many of us are looking for solutions,” she said while waiting to get her food tray.
Every week, hundreds of people line up hoping to get their hands on a food bin, but many are met with rejection. However, the baskets were overflowing only a few months ago and the end-of-day surpluses were distributed in the street. The situation is very different now, insists Ms. Cianamea.
“One hour after the start of basket donations, we have to close our doors,” she illustrates.
A worrying situation
The same observation is made by the organization La Sphère de services, which serves UQAM students. The requests for food aid are numerous and cannot all be met. Usually, the organization distributes 400 food containers per week to students in need. This year, only 150 weekly baskets can be made due to the shortage of food. The organization even has to buy food in order to fulfill its mandate.
“We have several students who write to us to tell us that they have not managed to reserve bins. It’s going like hot cakes,” commented Daniel Vandal, General Manager of the Service Sphere.
For its part, Moisson Montréal recognizes that a drop in donations of dry products is a problem and that food surpluses are lower than before. Back to school is one of the two times of the year when requests made to banks are the most important, the second being the holiday season.