Soaring demand at Canadore College’s student food bank
Demand at Canadore College's student food bank is increasing as some college students are finding it hard to pay all of their expenses.
The school's food bank usage is up more than 50 per cent since the last school year and the shelves always need to be filled with food products.
"I have heard from a few students that tell me they have had to cut down on the food that they're eating,” said Jessica Crook, Canadore student council vice-president of student life.
Officials who run the food bank estimate close to 100 students have gotten help this semester. That number has doubled since the last school semester.
"The pandemic has put strain finally on a lot of families,” said Lise Paxton, the college’s student government coordinator.
“Students are coming to school for the first time and maybe their parents were without work. There are lots of factors."
The school is concerned with the trend, citing student struggles with high inflation, cost of schooling and only part-time jobs available in the daytime.
"The community approaches us all the time saying they're looking for staff, but they're in class until 5 o’clock and they can only work a couple hours a day,” said Paxton.
“They want to work but can't fill the hours.”
The food bank is run at all four of the college’s campuses, including the campus in West Parry Sound.
Canadore’s student council is aware of the issues and is working with the school, students and food bank to ensure they get the financial support they need.
"No one likes to hear it. It's people you know and people in your student body. But we are supporting those students as best as we can," said Crook.
The student council is hoping it can find ways to wean students off the food bank as the semester continues.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.