The student society at the University of Victoria says at least 150 students are accessing the schools food bank on the days they operate.
Nearly two-thirds of UVic students “are facing some level of food insecurity right now,” said Izzy Adachi, board member with the student society.
Adachi says they’re seeing more students going hungry than ever before.
With the campus’s Food Bank facing a deficit, Adachi says they’ll work hard to feed as many students as they can, fearing that what they can manage, won’t be nearly enough.
According to a survey published by the student society in December, students at UVic are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food and the crushing cost of housing — so much so, they’re resorting to some drastic measures.
Accessing food banks, skipping meals, and in some cases dumpster diving.
Wyatt Maddox, a graduate student at UVic, says he knows a few urban foragers.
“They generally go off campus because the dumpsters tend to be locked up pretty good here,” he said. “Grocery stores where you see bulk products being put out into the dumpers…They’re usually only expired by a day or two.”
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Mary Griffin
