According to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the number of food banks on university campuses across Canada is growing in order to account for rising tuition fees and living costs.
The CFS is calling on federal and provincial governments to make post-secondary education more affordable; its national chairperson, Bilan Arte, hopes that the upcoming federal election will address the issue, as student poverty remains unrecognized.
Halifax’s Saint Mary’s University has recently set up a food bank after continually referring students to local food banks. Their food bank is not funded by the university.
Saint Mary’s University financial aid officer Allen Wolfe said that stagnant student loan limits and a lack of education on how to budget adds to the problem.
In a national study released last fall by Food Banks Canada, it found that the number of people community food banks serve in Canada has increased by 25 per cent.
— Emily Johnpulle
With files from Huffington Post Canada (The Canadian Press)
