By Karen Nickel
Dialog Reporter
Food bank grub. Karen Nickel / The Dialog
I don’t know if you think about food security, I do. I think about how people eat when they have no money or resources to draw on. I wonder how the $25 student levy and the TTC fare increase will affect those who rely on GBC’s food banks. I think about it more as the holidays approach; it seems others do too. Rebecca Sacrey and the Student Leadership Campaign to Fight Campus Hunger are organizing a food drive from Nov. 5 – 26 to, “…raise awareness and to make sure all students of GBC are fed throughout the holidays”.
In October, 577 people used food banks at GBC; 230 people used the food bank at Casa Loma and 347 at St. James, of that 141 were children; yes, children. People rely on food banks to make ends meet as they attend college and learn new skills for the workforce, myself included.
The “Vital Signs 2012 Report”, from the Toronto Community Foundation, paints a picture of who is using food banks. The report states that “The number of working poor in the Toronto Region increased by 42 per cent, between 2000 and 2005,” future numbers are expected to keep growing as more austerity measures are implemented. The report reads, “At current rates, it is estimated that by 2025, almost 60 per cent of Toronto neighbourhoods will be low, or very low income”. The cost of food is also increasing, with the price for bread and pasta having jumped: 79.5 per cent and 52.7 per cent respectively since 2002; 4.7 per cent of that increase in the past year alone.
A little more than half of the adult population of Toronto have post-secondary diplomas, certificates or degrees and that number is increasing but so is the number of people falling into poverty due to low paying work or unemployment. To try to escape this poverty, many are going to college and upgrading skills in order to try and climb out of part time or precarious work. Many of them have children and all of them have to eat.
Sacrey and the Student Leadership Campaign to Fight Campus Hunger are doing something for GBC food banks. They’re making sure almost 600 people have enough for the holidays. Bring non-perishable items for the food boxes throughout St. James campus: at the front desk, main floor, building A; Room 275 (Assessment office); 314A (Co-op office); Room 490F (Social and Community Service office); or 582C (Disability Services).
You can also donate cash so that your fellow students can have decent meals; ask about that option at the food bank. You are always welcome, any time of year, to donate items to the food bank or to register for services. The Student Association of George Brown College will be holding a food drive from Nov. 26 – 30.
Casa Loma
E Building, Room E130
*Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10am – 4pm, Friday: 10am – 2pm,
St. James
Room 159A
*Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10am – 4pm, Friday: 10am – 2pm.
Waterfront: Opening In the last week of November
Room 031
*Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10am – 4pm, Friday: 10am – 2pm,
* Please note hours of operation are subject to change.
For information on the Student Association food banks see: http://studentassociation.ca/OurServices/Lifeworks/FoodBank.aspx
