Food Collective Centre at McMaster University shares how they are contributing to supporting students through the ongoing food crisis
Food insecurity has become increasingly relevant in Canada, with reports from 2023 indicating that throughout Canada people are struggling with food for many different economical factors, such as cost of living.
This issue is also prevalent in Hamilton. The Hamilton Food Share coordinates emergency food shipping throughout their their 23 hunger-relief programs. They found in March 2023 there was a total of just over 33 500 visits across their 23 hunger-relief programs.
The Food Collective Centre at McMaster University is a service that offers a food bank system and resources for students. In addition to their food bank, the FCC has fronted other food security initiatives such as Lockers of Love, Good Food Box and the Community Kitchen Workshop.
FCC director Samantha Cheng shared that the food insecurity for students presents in many different ways. Cheung explained that food illiteracy, or not being able or struggling to find time to cook, is a common contributor to food insecurity.
“Fresh produce is what's most difficult to obtain, students tend to turn to the quicker options. Which often look like processed foods [or] snacks and so produce might be at the back of their agenda. Which is obviously not great, because you want to promote eating more fruits and vegetables for better health outcomes,” said Cheng.
Fresh produce is what's most difficult to obtain, students tend to turn to the quicker options. Which often look like processed foods [or] snacks and so produce might be at the back of their agenda
Samantha Cheng, Food Collective Centre director
Cheng explained that due to many of these factors, food insecurity is experienced at higher rates by marginalized communities. She expressed that this holds true not just at McMaster, but the larger community that spans Canada.
Within marginalized student communities, Cheung explained how international students are specifically at risk of being subjected to food insecurity. This demographic is recognized within the FCC and they are currently in contact with the International Student Services.
Cheung shared how at one of their recent International Food & Grocery Trips, the FCC presented their work, and exchanged information with the students.
“International students, [FCC’s] also seen, they struggle with adapting to the food systems here in Canada, and especially like not being able to access cultural, like food that they're used to in their culture,” said Cheng.
Currently the FCC is planning an initiative with the Indigenous Health Movement to raise awareness on Indigenous food sovereignty. She shared that raising awareness is important, and can further educate students on an aspect of Indigenous sovereignty.
Cheng ultimately believes that by working with groups on campus that focus specifically on marginalized populations that they can better understand how to address the needs of food insecurity from these communities.
“One way we are trying to address specific marginalized groups is to reach out to different communities on campus that are that perhaps have people who can who represent these groups and work towards these groups, and we partner with them. We hope to partner with them to raise awareness for the greater student population,” said Cheng.
Cheng shared that the biggest barrier to services they currently face is budget. She shared that while they do not focus specifically on donations from the community, they do accept them.
“A lot of times our partners are disappointed or frustrated because they go to the pantry and they see there's nothing there. We are limited by budget in terms of how much we can purchase for the fridge in the community [and] the fridge in the pantry space, despite having [a] give what you can take what you need model. It's definitely been unbalanced. So funding is the largest barrier for all services, not just the food center,” said Cheng.
We are limited by budget in terms of how much we can purchase for the fridge in the community [and] the fridge in the pantry space, despite having [a] give what you can take what you need model.
Samantha Cheng, Food Collective Centre director
Cheng expressed that students are more than encouraged to reach out to the FCC whenever needed. They can answers questions, and help guide you through their services.
“We're here to support you, and we understand. We understand that your situation so you're not alone in this struggle,” said Cheng.
To learn more about FCC please visit their website, and get updates on current events please follow their Instagram. McMaster University has a McMaster Campus Food Council, where they share a list of resources on campus for students to utilize.
By: Areej Ali
This past November marked the launch of “Tax-Free Tuesdays,” an initiative proposed by McMaster Students Union president Ikram Farah during the 2018 presidential election.
The pilot project, created in collaboration with McMaster Hospitality Services, entailed offering students a 13 per cent discount at La Piazza during the month of November.
Farah initially created the initiative in effort to promote food affordability on campus.
“Food insecurity is real. The MSU invests in the operations of the MSU Food Collective Centre to offer immediate food support to students,” said Farah in a Silhouette article about the project from November.
With the winter semester coming to an end, McMaster Hospitality Services director Chris Roberts has confirmed that “Tax-Free Tuesdays” project will not continue in the future.
The aim was to have increased traffic flow in La Piazza, which would offset the financial losses resulting from giving students the discount.
According to Roberts, La Piazza did not see increased traffic in November.
“The data clearly showed that our transactions on the Tax-Free Tuesdays were no different than previous Tuesdays ,which resulted in a significant loss in revenue over the course of the pilot,” said Roberts. “This indicates that students continued their usual habits regardless of the discount.”
He cites Union Market’s elimination of their boxed water, suggesting that McMaster Hospitality Services must continue to operate in a financially responsible manner.
As such, the “Tax-Free Tuesdays” project will likely not resurface next year.
When asked for her comment on McMaster Hospitality Services’ decision, Farah did not provide a response to The Silhouette.
There is a lack of clarity with respect to McMaster students’ feedback from the project, including whether or not they believe there was sufficient advertising from the MSU.
Farah and the MSU have also yet to publicly respond to Roberts’ comments and McMaster Hospitality Services’ decision.
“I believe there are other initiatives that we could look at that serve the needs of students who are financially challenged that will not affect our financials in a negative way,” said Roberts.
An example of one such initiative is Bridges Cafe’s new “Cards For Humanity” program, a pay it forward initiative through which students donate to other students.
According to Roberts, students can expect to see various food accessibility initiatives emerge, but “Tax-Free Tuesdays” will no longer be one of them.
By: Neda Pirouzmand
On March 18, Bridges Café unveiled its new “Cards for Humanity” student program.
“Cards” refer to one dollar donations that students can make at checkout in the café. Each donation will go towards a future student’s purchase.
There is a one hundred dollar cap on donations so that funds do not accumulate.
Chris Roberts, director of McMaster Hospitality Services, described the program as user-friendly.
“It’s quite simple. Donate a dollar when you can, or use a dollar when you need it,” he said. “Anyone can donate to the project when purchasing a meal and students can use up to three dollars at a time towards their food purchase.”
Roberts attributes the idea for the program to a McMaster student.
“A student had seen something similar at the 541 Eatery and believed it would be a good way to help students with food accessibility challenges,” Roberts said. “Hospitality Services was supportive of the idea and we have worked hard to get the program elements in place.”
541 Eatery & Exchange is a Hamilton café that uses a pay it forward initiative to give all community members a place at the table.
Café customers can donate a dollar to buy a button, and future customers can use buttons towards their meal.
It should be noted that the program will be funded exclusively via McMaster students, not the university. This may make it less sustainable in the long-term as the successes of the program will be contingent on students’ ability and willingness to donate.
In addition, pay it forward initiatives have the drawback of being vulnerable to abuse.
Students can use cards for humanity donations regardless of whether or not they face food insecurity because there exist no restrictions on program eligibility.
However, Roberts is not focused on those who may try to abuse the system. He maintains that the pilot program’s success will depend on whether it addresses food insecurity and raises awareness for postsecondary food insecurity in Canada.
“There are students who could come and use the program but they don’t because they tell me that they would rather give than receive,” said a Bridges employee named Maggie.
Roberts does not see this initiative expanding in the future as he hopes that the support provided from Bridges will meet the needs of students on campus.
The smooth operation of this program will depend on goodwill. If students do not abuse the program, donations will be allocated towards those who need them the most.
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Hamilton is a city of stark inequalities. As the city’s economy booms, many Hamiltonians are swept to the sidelines as a result of a housing crisis and employment insecurity. Compared to other cities in Ontario, Hamilton also has a high proportion of working class people, disabled people and refugees, who are often the first to feel the brunt of these changes.
Health outcomes over the past decade have been bleak, and according to many disability justice and healthcare advocates, show no signs of changing unless bold steps are taken to support Hamilton’s marginalized populations.
In 2010, the Hamilton Spectator released Code Red, a project that mapped the connections between income and health across Hamilton to explore the social determinants of health. Using census and hospital data from 2006 and 2007, the report showed strong disparities in health outcomes between the Hamilton’s wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods.
The Code Red project shows that social and economic inequalities lead to health inequalities. The lower city, which experiences disproportionately higher rates of poverty, also has significantly poorer health outcomes.
In February 2019, an updated Code Red project was released using data from 2016 and 2017. The updated Code Red project found that in general, health outcomes in Hamilton have declined and inequalities have grown.
Since the first Code Red project in 2010, the average lifespan in parts of the lower city has declined by 1.5 years. Furthermore, the gap in lifespan between Hamilton neighbourhoods has grown from 21 to 23 years.
These results come as no surprise to Sarah Jama, an organizer with the disability justice network of Ontario. According to Jama, given the lack of political change coupled with changes in the city of Hamilton, it was inevitable that poverty would worsen and inequalities would deepen.
Jama notes that health care and social services tend to be compacted into the downtown core, which has tended to have a higher concentration of people who rely on these services.
However, rising costs of living within the downtown core has meant that the people who access these services are being priced out. According to a report by the Hamilton Social Planning and Research Council, eviction rates have skyrocketed in the past decade. As a result, the people who rely on these services have to make compromises about whether to live in a place with supports available close by, or a place that is affordable.
“The more compromises you have to meet with regard to your ability to live freely and safely in the city the harder it is to survive,” said Jama.
Denise Brooks, the executive director for Hamilton Urban Core, works directly with people at the margins of Hamilton’s healthcare system. Brooks noted that the 2010 Code Red project was a wake up call for many.
“For me one of the biggest takeaways [from the first Code Red project] was even greater resolve that this really is a political issue and that it hasn't been looked at and is not being looked at as a crisis,” stated Brooks.
The 2010 Code Red project sparked projects including the Hamilton neighbourhood action strategy and pathways to education program. According to Brooks, while these initiatives were beneficial, more robust policy is needed to substantially address poverty.
“... [C]an we see any change in policy orientation? Did we see a reallocation of resources? Did we see a redistribution of priorities in any way? I would have to say no,” said Brooks.
The updated Code Red project calls for a restructuring of the traditional health care system to include social and economic programs that contribute to people’s overall health.
However, recent political changes have led many health advocates to worry that the coming years will see change for the worse. Matthew Ing, a member of the DJNO research committee, notes that provincial cuts to a slew social assistance programs threaten to further exacerbate the existing inequalities in Hamilton.
In November 2018, the provincial government announced reforms to Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program that aimed to streamline social assistance and incentivize people to return to work. Among many changes, this includes aligning the definition of disability to align with the more narrow definition used the federal government.
According to Jama, narrowing the eligibility requirements for disability support makes it likely that people will slip through the cracks. They will put the responsibility on the municipality to provide services, meaning that care is likely to differ between providers.
“The onus is going to be on individual service providers on all these people to really decide who really fits this idea of being disabled enough to be on the service versus it being like sort of supervised by the province,” stated Jama.
Additionally, in February 2019 the provincial government announced plans to streamline and centralize the health care process. Under the proposed model, Ontario Health teams led by a central provincial agency will replace the existing 14 local health integration networks across the province.
Brooks noted that this has not been the first time that the province sought out to reform healthcare. Having worked in community health for years, Brooks remarks that the changes that are made to healthcare frequently exclude people on the margins.
“It's always the people who are the most marginalized, the most vulnerable, the socially isolated and historically excluded that remain on those margins all the time regardless of the change that go through,” said Brooks.
Currently, patient and family advisory committees work to inform the work of LHINs. The government has not announced whether PFACs will be retained under the new model, but Ing worries that a centralized model would leave patients and families out of the decision making process.
However, Ing recognizes that the current system is far from perfect, noting that disabled communities were not adequately represented on PFACs. According to Ing, this speaks to the much larger problem of political erasure of people with disabilities.
“Disability justice means that we must organize across movements, and we must be led by the people who are most impacted,” writes Ing.
The DJNO was created in order to mobilize disabled communities and demand a holistic approach to healthcare reform. According to Jama, this includes seeing race, income, and disability as fundamentally interconnected.
However as social assistance measures are cut at the provincial level, the future for disability justice is murky. The results of the updated Code Red project paint a sobering picture of the state of health inequality in Hamilton. Given the direction that healthcare reform is taking on the provincial level, health and poverty advocates worry about the future of healthcare equality in Hamilton.
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By: Donna Nadeem
In the fall, An’am Sherwani, Asha Smith and Garry Vinayak, three students taking the SUSTAIN 3S03 course, conducted a new study on food insecurity on campus.
The results reveal that 39 per cent of the 204 student respondents have experienced moderate food insecurity and 12 per cent have experienced severe insecurity.
Food insecurity refers to the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food.
Meal Exchange is a nonprofit organization that tackles issues such as student food insecurity in Canadian post-secondary institutions.
In 2016, Meal Exchange worked with university campuses including Brock University, the University of Calgary, Dalhousie University, Lakehead University and Ryerson University to survey students using the “Hungry for Knowledge” survey guide and framework.
The objectives of the study were to determine a ‘prevalence estimate’ of students experiencing food insecurity, identify key factors that contribute to student food insecurity and raise awareness about various services that address and help reduce the issue of student food insecurity.
As part of the course, Sherwani, Smith and Vinayak created an online survey for the McMaster student population to collect information about students who are at most risk of food insecurity.
The survey also asked respondents about the various barriers and factors that influence and contribute to the emergence of student food insecurity.
The goal of the project was to use the survey data collection to gain knowledge and a deeper understanding about the social issue of student food insecurity.
The team advertised the survey through social media, posters around campus and class talks. They obtained 204 partial responses and 185 complete responses.
Their findings indicate that 39 percent, or 71, of respondents have experienced ‘moderate’ food insecurity while 12 per cent, or 22 respondents, experienced ‘severe’ food insecurity.
Respondents indicated that their food insecurity was largely the result of factors including financial barriers, having limited time to cook and the lack of healthy and diverse food options on campus.
They also reported that food insecurity impacted their physical health, mental health, social life and grades.
The most common experiences amongst those dealing with food insecurity included relying on low-cost foods, not eating healthy balanced meals, and prioritizing other financial needs before securing adequate food.
The study also suggests that food insecurity also results in skipping meals and sometimes not eating the entire day.
Of those who identified as food insecure, only 24 per cent utilized programs and services at their disposal, such as the McMaster Students Union Food Collective Centre.
Nonetheless, as there is a stigma associated with these services, it is unclear the extent to which respondents underreported their use of them.
After analyzing the results of the survey, the team shared their findings were shared with MSU student clubs and services.
These groups can use the results of the study, particularly the one about students’ use of food services, as a springboard to explore new ways of outreach to McMaster students experiencing food insecurity.
The increased usage of these services and clubs may aid in the reduction of food insecurity at McMaster.
The SUSTAIN 3S03 team has sent their study to a graduate student, who will continue to pursue and examine the research. Further exploration and follow-ups are currently in progress and the study will be continued into 2019.
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