Campus food banks serve a growing need

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28 August 2015

Food bank use is on the rise across the Lower Mainland.

Student unions across B.C. are struggling to keep up with demand as reported in The Province newspaper. At UBC, the Alma Mater Society operates the food bank. As reported in the story, volunteer Alex Kwok said that he used to associate food banks with the poor and the homeless. “It’s tough to hear their stories,” he said. “A lot of our clients have families. They have to take care of their family while they’re trying to finish their studies.” It is estimated that 75 per cent of the clients are graduate students. Some are international students. Last school year, the food bank had 680 visits, up from 540 visits the previous year. During the summer months, visits this year totalled 154 compared to 56 the year before. The AMS Food Bank isn’t the only food bank set up to serve post-secondary clientele. The chair of the Canadian Federal of Students B.C. said that of the federations 15 student unions, 12 operate either a food bank or food voucher system. Other schools with a food security program in place include Kwantlen Polytechnic and Douglas College in Metro Vancouver. “It takes a lot of courage to come and walk into the food bank,” said Jay Singh, the co-ordinator at the AMS Food Bank at UBC. He said he has seen many children come through the door with “defeat written all over their faces.” Singh encourages people to think of the food bank as a service for students, nothing more complicated than that. In 2014, there were nearly 700,000 visits to food banks in Metro Vancouver. United Way helps people get the food they need and learn about healthy eating. In 2013/14, United Way supported 26 food programs. 65,000 meals and snacks were cooked and served. When you give directly to United Way, you are helping people get the food they need. Not only that, you are helping them learn how to find or grow healthy, affordable food and learn about good nutrition. Poverty is a complicated issue – but if you can make sure that people have the basics, then they have the chance to focus on other things and plan to make a better life for themselves helping them move from poverty to possibility.

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