Cape Breton University food bank cannot keep up with demand: student union president
Global News
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
Damanpreet Singh said the student-run food bank at the university in Sydney, N.S., gives out 50 packages of food daily, but as many as 100 students a day are reaching out to the food bank for help each weekday.
“We are really struggling with big line-ups for the food bank,” Singh said in an interview.
“We need more food packages, and in order to make more packages, we need more staff, more space and more money.”
Singh said the food bank has recently set up a system for students to sign up for a food package on a first-come-first-serve basis online. This means students can book an appointment to pick up the food instead of waiting in long lines, but the demand still far exceeds what they can offer.
The student union president said he believes that the need for food is likely tied to the rising cost of living in Sydney and the scarcity of available work.
Singh said that since he moved to Sydney in May 2021, the typical rent he and his friends pay has jumped from $350 per month for a room to between $500 and $800 monthly. There are also fewer units available, he added.
The housing crunch coincides with Cape Breton University’s recent population growth. The university has acknowledged the rapid hike in student numbers and said in December it would reduce the number of new student spaces for some of its popular programs.
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