The inability to access healthy and nutritious food is a grave issue that affects many people all over Canada and especially so for students. Food insecurity in Canada has seen a rise in recent years and according to the reports from the city of Toronto, thirty to forty per cent of students suffer from food insecurity.

Food insecurity may spring from various factors including lack of money, high tuition fees and expensive books. With many students working minimum wage jobs and increasing rent and cost of living expenses, students often struggle to find reliable sources of nutritious food in Toronto.

To tackle this issue, several organizations have been established at colleges and universities which aim to supply healthy food to our diverse student body. The Student Association of George Brown College’s contribution to fighting this epidemic is the Student Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) initiative.

SNAP follows the Canadian Food’s Guide (CFG) in order to provide GBC students with a variety of food options and teaches them how to cook and budget one’s expenses to be able to purchase healthy food.

The Meal Exchange program has been working on a much larger scale to end food insecurity since 1993. The charity works nationally and promotes equity and diversity through food. It has multiple student ambassadors at colleges and universities and is now looking for one at George Brown College.

Additionally, the program is organizing a National Food Summit to discuss provincial and federal food policies and how students can be active participants in reducing food insecurity.