Post-secondary institutions in northeast help campus food banks stock up to meet need

As more students in northeastern Ontario line up at food banks, some post-secondary institutions are stepping up to help feed them on campus.

In Sault Ste Marie, Nat Cicchelli is the general manager at the food bank at St. Vincent's Place.

He says they saw 600 students out of 5,000 applicants last year, most of them foreign students studying at Algoma University and Sault College.

"International students were not a big item on our radar, I'd say, a couple of years ago, even last year, which now it is," he said.

Cicchelli says he would never turn away anyone in need, but in conjunction with Algoma University and Sault College, they're working with campus food banks to provide for their students, and to make sure the food goes to those truly in need.

"The idea is to educate the students what a food bank in Canada is, if you're in need of a food bank, and if you're in need, by all means access," he said ."If you're not in need let someone else access."

At Sault College, director of corporate communications and stakeholder relations, Rachel MacDonald, says there have been some meetings with St. Vincent's to share best practices and make sure the student union-run food bank is sustainable.

It is open twice a week for students who make online appointments.

MacDonald said there are about 150 appointments a week, which appears to be holding steady from last year.

"We're working really hard in various ways to do some education with our students in their pre-orientation, in some of the courses that they take, to give them an understanding of what the food bank is and how it works."

She says they work with Harvest Algoma to help supply the food and the student union donated $20,000 this year to support that organization.

Also in Sault Ste Marie, Algoma University recently announced a $50,000 expansion of its student-run pantry, while simultaneously launching a campaign to create a food bank on its Brampton campus.

The campaign has so far raised about $130,000, exceeding the $100,000 goal.

At Sudbury's Cambrian College, spokesperson Dan Lessard says students applied for and received more emergency financial help this fall, although he's not sure why.

He said from September to early November of this year, Cambrian had given approximately $91,000 in hardship bursaries and emergency financial aid to approximately 114 students, domestic and international.

Cambrian College sees double the requests for emergency student aid

That's nearly twice the amount for the same time period last year, when it was around $57,000 to 50 students.

Lessard said the students use the hardship funding for whatever immediate need they are facing from  living expenses to accommodations.

Around the north, Northern College is also stepping up to feed students.

Acting president Mitch Dumas said 12 students a week rely on the Timmins campus food bank while 24 are enrolled in the breakfast program at the Kirkland Lake campus.

He said Northern also has a food bank at its Haileybury campus and soup kitchen in Moosonee, as well as providing emergency relief funding upon occasion

He said both domestic and foreign students benefit although the increase in international enrolment means there's a growing trend among that population.

Dumas said the college is also reaching out beyond its campus with a planned $500,000 donation to food banks and other charitable organizations.

"We have noticed that there has been a lot of increased usage this fiscal year," he said.

"So we felt that it was our due diligence to help support our communities. That's what we are. We're a  community  college, so we feel that it's important to support our communities and our community needs."

Dumas says he expects students, domestic and international alike, are finding recent cost of living increases difficult to manage on their budgets but wants to help provide support throughout the communities in their catchment area.