Ontario Food Banks Grapple With Surge in International Student Visits; Some Cite Misuse

Boxes wait to be filled with provisions at a food bank warehouse in Toronto in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Several Ontario food banks are reporting abuse of their services by international students, saying some deliberately exploit the non-profits while others are unaware of how they work. Two Ontario food banks have decided to close their doors to international students as a result.

“Due to the increased visitation to the food bank in the last couple of years, we helped students in September but noticed that there was tremendous abuse and manipulation of our services. We have now stopped the practice of serving them so we can concentrate on our regular clients and refugees,” the head of a food bank in Oshawa told The Epoch Times.

The man said he can’t make his name or the name of the specific food bank public because “we live in an atmosphere that fringe individuals can find any institution a target for some obscure reason to fight with.”

He said he has witnessed international students intentionally misspelling their names or swapping their first and last names in order to get ahead of other people in the line. He also said that when some students received their basket of food, they would only take the items they wanted and “leave the rest outside.”

In early November, the board president of the Ste. Louise Outreach Food Bank in Brampton, Ontario, said the facility had seen so many international students seeking free food that it put up a sign telling them to stay away.

Catherine Rivera told the National Post that since September, there has been an influx of students either trying to defraud the food bank or not understanding how it works.

Ms. Rivera noted that other food banks and even churches have also seen this trend. “I’m getting calls now not only from food banks, but churches in Brampton, saying that they’re running out of supplies because they have this influx of students coming.”

Meanwhile, YouTube and TikTok videos can be seen providing information on how to get “free food” in Canada. One YouTube video from June, which had over 58,000 views but has since been made private, explains how international students can “take advantage of free groceries” by repeatedly visiting food banks. A video from September, with 39,000 views, encourages the same.

The caption of another video posted in September reads, “In this video I talk about how to get free food in Canada for international students.” The posting also provides a link to search results for food banks near a certain address in Scarborough, Ontario.

Usage Rising Sharply

This relatively new development comes at a time when food bank usage across Canada has been rising sharply.

Food Banks Canada’s “HungerCount 2023” report says Canadian food banks saw over 1.9 million visits in March 2023, a 32 percent increase from March 2022 and a 78.5 percent increase compared to March 2019. A Nov. 14 report from food banks Daily Bread and North York Harvest found that one in 10 Torontonians now rely on food banks, twice as many as the year prior.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, before international students arrive in Canada, they must provide “proof of financial support” showing that they can support themselves. The minimum amount of funds required for a student coming to Canada to a location outside Quebec is $10,000 per year, or $833 a month, not including tuition fees.

However a Daily Bread Food Bank survey of 180 Toronto international students released in September showed that the respondents were spending an average of $1,517 per month, nearly double what the federal government stipulates, due to the high living expenses in the city.

The surveyed students, all of whom were using food banks, also noted that Canada was “much more expensive than they thought it would be, particularly with respect to housing and food.”

At the same time, the number of international students in Canada has hit record levels, with government figures showing that more than 807,000 study permit holders in the country in 2022, an increase of over 190,000 from 2021.

Food Banks ‘New’ to Many Students

Glen Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank and a former Liberal MP, told The Epoch Times that while food banks have been able to help international students for the last four decades, Canada’s high cost of living in recent years “often isn’t communicated effectively to the students before they arrive.”

“This is a process that needs to take place at the enrolment level, and all of the institutions have committed to modifying and strengthening the updated information provided to potential students,” he said. “They think they have the funds to cover the costs, only to get here and find out that it’s not as manageable.”

Mr. Pearson said the flood of international students at their local food banks “only emerged in September and has affected all food banks.”

He explained that, having served as executive director at the food bank for 36 years, since 1987, and having previously served as chairperson for the Ontario Association of Food Banks for a two-year term, he has “never seen anything quite like that.”

Mr. Pearson said a few food bank staff members had shown him TikTok videos of some students who had visited the facility encouraging their peers to come and obtain free food. When Mr. Pearson met with some of the students and asked them about the videos, they claimed to be “under the impression in coming to Canada that this was just part of what was offered in the culture.”

“It wasn’t so much that they felt they were taking food away from somebody else. They just didn’t understand the role of food banks. That was new to them,” he said.

He added that the food bank has begun asking for proof of identity and sources of income and turning away those who do not qualify for assistance, as well as handing out educational materials on food banks to schools.

‘Simply Trying to Get By’

Several food banks across Canada told The Epoch Times that they either hadn’t seen instances of international students abusing the system or didn’t specifically track that metric.

Tricia Johnson, director of communications and development at the Ottawa Food Bank, said that while her organization does ask for proof of address and identification, it doesn’t track “students” or “international students” as a demographic.

Ms. Johnson noted that the Ottawa Food Bank has seen a 22 percent increase in visits compared to 2022, and a 68 percent surge in traffic and a 233 percent rise in food purchases for clients since the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period.

The Calgary Food Bank’s communications coordinator BettyJo Kaiser said that although her organization compiles data on the demographics of Canadians who use their services, it also does not track post-secondary students.

“We have seen an approximate 30 percent increase in demand for our services year over year, and that is reflected across all demographics,” she added.

Brockville Food Bank’s operations manager Amanda Petch said her organization has not observed a trend of international students coming but has seen an “increased need from local people.”

Erin O'Neil, executive director of the University of Alberta’s Campus Food Bank, said the “few apparent examples of folks taking advantage” of food banks were overshadowing the fact that many international students are struggling to keep up with rising costs.

“As far as steps to deal with it, we are choosing to put pressure on decision-makers who can help with policy changes, rather than blaming or shaming international students who are simply trying to get by,” Ms. O'Neil said.