High demand forces Western food bank to close walk-ins as students continue feeling the pinch

The student-run food bank at Western University has put a pause on walk-in services because of an overwhelming demand that volunteers are struggling to manage and not enough food to distribute.

Students can still pre-order hampers of non-perishable food items that would supply them with up to a week's worth of groceries within 24 hours, said Bianca Gouveia, vice-president of student services.

"Focusing on our hamper service was the best way to make sure that not only students got all the food they needed, but also for our volunteers to keep up with the demand," she said.

Gouveia said demand has increased three times compared to last year where the team had 750 hampers for the entire school year, containing two days worth of food. This year, in its first nine days, there are already more than 130 hamper requests.

"September isn't traditionally a month we see such a spike which means we're going to see this continue to increase throughout the year, especially during our winter months."

Gouveia believes the need is a result of increased food and rent costs due to inflation. She said students are really struggling to make ends meet on top of an already busy school year. 

"Students already have a full-time job of being a student and it can be difficult to take on a part-time job to pay for what they need to live and it's getting really difficult to do especially with the cost of living across so many areas of a student's life," she said. 

Students having to budget, work extra hours

On Monday, the heads of Canada's five largest grocery chains said they've "agreed to work with" the federal government to stabilize food prices and deliver a plan on grocery prices specific to their operations by Thanksgiving.

The rise in grocery prices post-pandemic is becoming quite the challenge for fourth-year finance student Adrian Ching, who said he's a lot more conscious about how much money he's spending and what he's spending it on.

"I work a part-time job and it does cover the majority of my food expenses, but sometimes I have to go home and get my parents to help me out with groceries," he said. 

"I'm definitely working a lot more at my job to cover those costs and the housing increase in terms of rent as well, so it's definitely a big part of my daily considerations."

Although his work schedule is currently manageable with school, Ching said he worries about the impact that working more shifts would have on his grades. He hasn't used the food bank yet, but all he can do for now is watch his budget and hope prices stabilize soon, Ching said. 

French exchange students, Juliette Jambu and Camille Nguyen, were shocked at current food prices. The pair are at Western on scholarships, but now have to dip into their savings and search for jobs to keep up with expenses.

"I visited London five years ago and thought 'Wow this is much cheaper than France' but now [prices] are pretty much the same," said Nguyen, 22. 

"It's a lot for us to worry about especially since our families are far away and we can only count on ourselves, which is difficult for our mental health," Jambu, 20, added. 

Money is always tight at the end of the month with other expenses like textbooks and rent, they said, adding they would consider using a service like the food bank if financial strains continue.

Meanwhile, Gouveia said she's reaching out to community partners to help bring in more donations and expand their existing team of 30 volunteers to once again resume walk-ins. Donations to the food bank can be made on their website.