this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2024

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113

Canadian food banks are on the brink: ‘This is not a sustainable situation’ | Globalnews.ca (globalnews.ca)

submitted 7 months ago by lautan@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A recent spring food drive in Barrie, Ont. fell $100,000 short on their financial goal. It's part of a growing trend across Canada.

top 22 comments

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[–] jadero@lemmy.ca 17 points 7 months ago

It was never sustainable right from the beginning. Food banks are supported and funded mostly by those just a paycheque or two from being a client themselves. If the actually well-off were doing their part, food banks would mostly disappear because wages and social assistance would be up to the task of making sure people can afford to eat.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 14 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

And amidst this peril of food banks, Loblaws made 551 million Canadian dollars in net profits in Q4 2023.

ITT we'd rather worry about handfuls of people wasting few dozen dollars of food each.

[+] masterofn001@lemmy.ca -11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

In Windsor the line for one food bank near me has gone from a few people to hundreds.

But they aren't Canadians.

90% are foreign students.

One is a tenant here.

He throws away 75% of the food he gets. 2 days ago he threw away 6 boxes of kd. 3 pies. A jar ofbbq sauce. Buns, bread, candy, pasta. He kept the 3 tomatoes. (I kept the kd and BBQ sauce because there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. The pies were eaten by animals instead of hungry people)

You can watch others take their boxes and bags of food, sift through and throw out what they don't want.

Some have taken bags of vegetables only to dump them on the street.

If they can spend 60k on school they shouldn't be stealing from hungry Canadians.

[–] lilsolar@sh.itjust.works 31 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Can you get documentation of this? Sounds like ur just posting rage bait.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Not really rage bait

It’s known that international students use food banks, Brampton had to ban it awhile back

As for throwing stuff out…why would people expect differently? White people throw things out they don’t like, now imagine being in a country that eats completely different food

Recently

https://www.blogto.com/city/2024/04/outrage-ontario-student-food-banks-free-groceries-video/

sorry for source

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada-international-students-food-banks/wcm/1b5e72ce-9d8f-4fbd-8022-46e826876036/amp/

CBC on the ban

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yIw1QpsA97E

[–] Biyoo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Rage bait because the post read as : foreign students take food out of struggling Canadians mouths just to throw it out.

[–] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 1 points 7 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

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[–] Biyoo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I'm one of these students, I would never throw out food, same for all my friends here. It's hard enough without wasting.

And I don't like the idea of "stealing from hungry Canadians". We all know who the real thieves are, and it's not people going to food banks.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

If someone is going to the food bank sifting through the box and throwing most of it out it is stealing from people who need it.

[–] Biyoo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

These people probably exist, but are an extreme minority, and you should not change how the system works because of them. Maybe ban them individually if you see them throwing out at most. Trying to regulate extreme outliers usually costs way more than ignoring it.

Taken from a comment above : Loblaws made 551 million Canadian dollars in net profits in Q4 2023.

And grocery stores are responsible for 12% of the food watsted in Canada

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Would a chat with them about somebody else going without, because of the tossing away, help?

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca -3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

The tenant, being "Christian", is utterly dismissive of the needs of others. I suggested offering it to anyone in the house before tossing it. Freezing things. Not taking things in the first place. Mentioned that he's basically stealing the food out of mothers and children's mouths. Nope. Doesn't work.

Some actually delight in wasting.

[–] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 8 points 7 months ago

Even with assholes like that we shouldn't change our approach to food banks. Desperate families need that food and while "welfare queens" exist they're the exception rather than the norm. We, as a society, just need to accept a certain level of waste because the cost to police it outweighs the cost to just oversupply. That all said, I do hope an aide worker catches on and stops your roommate or that they mature out of being an ass.

But, for the sake of your roommate's punishment, I'm not willing to take food out of hands that legitimately need it.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago

That's awful

[–] lautan@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 months ago

Damn, didn't know it was that bad.

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

That's rather infuriating. I thought I heard stories about this and how certain food banks had to restrict students because the abuse was so high. Apparently it's a "tip" that's been passed around to international students.

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Do you have proof that is an ongoing issue?

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Nope. My message doesn't indicate that it is an ongoing issue. Not sure why you're asking me for proof either.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Apparently it’s a “tip” that’s been passed around to international students.

That doesn't surprise me. I've seen people suggesting to others, who are NOT in need, to visit their local soup kitchen for free/low-cost meals. I don't know how they can sleep at night with a clear conscience, but that's disturbing.