Who are we?
The Community Food Room is a community service group supported by the Ryerson Students' Union. The service opened over 10 years ago in response to the increasing financial obligations of students. The Community Food Room helps people in financial need overcome difficult financial times with free non-perishable food items, and on an irregular basis fresh perishable products are available.
Our services
Along with providing food, a surplus of resources and information FREE to the public, the Community Food Room offers the following:
- The Good Food Box
- Nutrition information and safety information
- Referral services/community services
- Easy to make, cost-saving recipes
- Advocacy centre
- Volunteer opportunities
- thINK Food: Recycle your cell phone and inkjet cartridges for your local food bank
Activities/Events
Check out our events and campaigns that address poverty and food insecurity.
How to become a member
The Community Food Room is open to all Ryerson students. In order to access the food bank just drop into our office and fill out a membership questionnaire. We operate on an honesty basis; proof of need is not requested or required – just verification of your Ryerson status.
How the service operates
The Community Food Room is open Monday to Friday during office hours, depending on the availability of student coordinators and volunteers. Operating on an honesty basis with an open door policy, members are entitled to ten food items per visit, and one visit per week.
As a member of the Daily Bread Network of food banks , bi-weekly food shipments are received throughout the year to help fill the Food Room's shelves.
We are located in room 212 of the Student Campus Centre.
To maintain this service we need YOU!
Our policy is that no student should sacrifice food for education. Too many students are forced to choose between paying tuition, getting the rent in on time, buying books, and buying food. And too often, food and healthy diets are put last on the list of purchases.
We demand and advocate for a reduction in tuition fees, rent controls and an increase in the minimum wage.
We need you to get involved!
Here are 5 easy things you can do:
1. Demand a livable minimum wage
Did you know that even if you work full-time while earning the minimum wage, your basic salary is still below the federally set poverty line of ,261.00?!!?
2. Fight for a tuition freeze and tuition fee reductions
Tuition fees have DOUBLED in ten years, even when you factor in inflation. As the cost of attending college or university increases, fewer people are able to afford a post-secondary education. Charging some level of tuition fee seems normal to many people in Canada. But many of the world's most economically developed countries, including Germany, France and Ireland, do not charge tuition fees at all. Many developing countries also do not charge tuition fees.
Get involved with lobbying the University to lower tuition.
Please contact the Ryerson Students' Union VP of Education – Nora Loreto at
vp.education@rsuonline.ca.
3. Order a Good Food Box
The Good Food Box is a box of fresh fruit and veggies sold at minimal cost. The Community Food Room sells and distributes the boxes on behalf of Field to Table. For every 10 boxes which are sold through the Community Food Room, we receive credits which we use to purchase perishable staple items such as bread and milk. Ordering the Good Food Box is an excellent way to get food for yourself AND for the Community Food Room, so order yours today!
Click here for more information on the Good Food Box.
4. Become a volunteer
The Community Food Room relies heavily on volunteers. Thanks to their hard work and commitment the Food Room is able to stay open from Monday to Friday during office hours.
Volunteers are responsible for helping out with the Good Food Box program, fundraising events, education and awareness campaigns, and much more. Besides the invaluable activity of helping with this community service, it is a great experience, where you will meet new people while helping out.
If you are interested please contact us at foodroom@rsuonline.ca and tell us how you would like to get involved.
5. Donate to our food drives
The Community Food Room holds three food drives each year:
- Thanksgiving Food Drive – October 2-13
- Winter Food Drive – November 27 to December 8
- Spring Food Drive – March 5-16
Donations can be dropped off at the Community Food Room (SCC212), the RSU front desk (SCC311), or any of our collection boxes around campus.
Top items in need include:
- Canned fruits and vegetables
- Cereal
- Canned meat and fish
- Canned beans and legumes
- Peanut butter
Financial donations are also welcome, and are used to buy perishable staple items like bread and milk.
If you're organizing an event for your course union or student group, why not ask for food donations at the door? It's a great way to build a spirit of giving among your fellow students.
1. The Good Food Box
Are you a rez student tired of the limited selection of fruit and veggies on campus? Or perhaps you're tired of paying too much for fruit and veg at the grocery store? Let your apple wishes and tomato dreams come true with the Good Food Box! With the Good Food Box, you get a basket of fresh fruit & vegetables at a very low price – lower than in any grocery store – and you can support the Community Food Room at the same time!
Throughout the year, the Community Food Room distributes the Good Food Box, brimming with fresh fruit and vegetables, on behalf of Field to Table. Boxes range in cost from to , depending on the size and version (small or large; conventional or organic). The fresh fruit and vegetables in the Good Food Box come directly from local farmers and the Ontario Food Terminal. It is cheaper than shopping at the grocery store. Buying direct and in bulk supports our local farmers and reduces the amount of fossil fuels burned in transporting food, resulting in savings, which are passed on to you.
Each box contains the same eclectic mix of produce (which helps keep costs low), though the contents change with each delivery, depending on what is in season and reasonable at the time. In addition, each box comes with a newsletter offering nutritional information and easy recipes.
Orders are placed on a bi-weekly basis on Tuesday afternoons and the boxes arrive the following week on Wednesday. For every 10 boxes purchased through the Community Food Room, we receive credits from Field to Table that allow us to purchase perishable staple items like bread and milk. Visit us at the Food Room (SCC212) and place your order today! Payment for the boxes is collected in advance of delivery.
2. Nutrition Information and Safety Information
Canada's Guide to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
Enjoy your food and always remember the following tips to stay healthy (for people over 2 years old):
- Enjoy a VARIETY of foods.
Make foods from the Grain Products and Vegetables & Fruits food groups the main part of your meal - Choose lower-fat dairy products, legumes such as beans and lentils instead of meat, and prepared foods
- Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activity and healthy eating.
- Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine consumption.
The Canadian Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends the following daily serving guidelines:
5-12 servings per day of Grain Products: 1 slice of bread, a bowl of cold or hot cereal, half a pita bread, half a bagel, 1 cup of cooked pasta or rice are all examples of one serving of grain.
5-10 servings per day of Vegetables and Fruit: one medium size carrot, apple, baked potato or half cup of fresh, frozen or canned vegetables or fruit, one cup of salad or half cup of fruit juice are all examples of a serving of vegetables and fruit.
2-4 servings per day of Milk Products: one cup of milk, 50 g of cheese, or ¾ cup of yogurt are examples of milk servings.
2-3 servings per day of Meat and Alternatives: 50 to 100 g of meat, poultry or fish, half a can of canned fish, 1 cup of beans, 100 g of tofu or 2 table spoons of peanut butter are all examples on meat and alternative servings.
The amount of food you need every day from the 4 food groups and other foods depends on your age, body size, activity level, your gender, and if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. That's why the Food Guide gives a lower and higher number of servings for each food group. For example, young children can choose the lower number of servings, while male teenagers can go to the higher number. Most other people can choose servings somewhere in between.
For more info visit:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php
Food Safety - Minimize Your Risks
By following some common sense guidelines in the way you handle and cook food, you can fight bacteria, and drastically reduce your risk of contracting food borne illnesses and disease.
Food bacteria can multiply quickly in warm and moist conditions and cause nasty illnesses like vomiting and diarrhea. They can also kill you.
Here are some tips to help you prevent the bacterial nasties from invading your body.
CLEAN!!
- Before handling any food, wash your hands with soapy water. It's just gross if you don't. Be sure to wash them again after handling raw meats, using the bathroom, changing diapers or touching pets. Again, it's just gross if you don't.
- Fruits and vegetables may look clean, but they're not – at least not until you wash them in clean running water.
SEPARATE!!
- Keep raw food separate from cooked food.
- Wash all utensils that touched raw meat before using them again for cooked foods.
COOK!!
- Cook all meats, poultry, fish and seafood thoroughly to kill bacteria.
- Eat cooked food while it is still hot. (It usually tastes better this way, too.)
CHILL!!
- Keep cold foods cold in the fridge. This slows down the rate at which the bacteria multiply.
- Toss foods that have mould growing on them (but shouldn't) and foods that smell bad (but shouldn't).
3. Referral services/community services
Toronto Public Health's central intake line
416-338-7600
http://www.toronto.ca/health
Toronto Public Health's central intake line will provide health information, telephone counseling and take referrals for further follow-up contacts by phone or home visits.
You can also e-mail your questions to publichealth@toronto.ca.
211 Toronto Community Connection
dial 211
http://www.211toronto.ca
211 is your first call for information about community, social, health and government services in Toronto. Just dial 211 in the 416 and 647 area codes. A trained Information and Referral Specialist will:
- Assess your situation
- Help you find answers to your questions
- Provide you with options and appropriate referrals.
This 24-hour-a-day service is free, confidential and available in many languages.
If you live outside of the 416 and 647 area codes and are interested in speaking with a 211 Toronto Information and Referral Specialist, you may dial 416-397-4636.
FoodLink
416-392-6655
http://www.foodshare.net/train06.htm
FoodLink is a volunteer-staffed telephone referral service that connects people with the food programs in their neighbourhoods. The FoodLink database contains over 1300 food program listings in Toronto. In partnership with Community Information Toronto, the system was computerized and expanded to include everything from congregate dining for seniors to nutrition counseling, pre-natal programs, Good Food Box drop-offs and community gardens.
If you are looking for food program development assistance and research services based on the FoodLink Hotline data please contact the FoodLink coordinator at foodlink@foodshare.net
Street Helpline
http://www.findhelp.ca/
416-392-3777
Are you or someone you know looking for shelter/housing?
Are you or someone you know concerned about living on the street?
The Street Helpline works in close cooperation with the Out of the Cold (OOTC) programs coordinating space availability and transportation, and the outreach van services provided by Anishnawbe Health Toronto, Na-Me-Res and the Red Cross. The Street Helpline conducts three daily bed checks of 42 shelters throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
A number of drop-ins within Toronto provide free or low cost meals, friendly advice, support and referrals. Street Helpline provides the most current and up to date information on these programs.
Looking for information and referral to a Withdrawal Management program? The Street Helpline is your friendly call to find availability on this and other addiction related programs.
Looking for a medical walk-in clinic? Basic health care? The Street Helpline can check the most up-to-date information available for programs in the city of Toronto. The Street Helpline maintains a current schedule for the Sherbourne Health Bus.
Web links of interest
211 Toronto.ca http://www.211Toronto.ca
Toronto Public Health http://www.toronto.ca/health/
FoodLink http://www.toronto.ca/health
Health Canada www.hc-sc.gc.ca/
thINK Food http://www.think-food.com
Daily Bread Food Bank www.dailybread.ca
Canadian Association of Food Banks http://www.cafb.ca
HungerCount http://www.cafb.ca/english/EducationandResearch-ResearchStudies.html
Raising the Roof http://www.raisingtheroof.org
Make Poverty History http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee http://www.tdrc.net
National Anti-Poverty Organization http://www.napo-onap.ca
Food Democracy http://www.fooddemocracy.org
4. Easy to make, cost-saving recipes
Check out our tables, where for just a donation (minimum donation ) you can get our cheap n' chic recipe booklet!
Also check out these links for low-cost, yummy recipes.
Martha Stewart Everday Food
http://www.marthastewart.com/everyday
Student Survival
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_events/events_student1.shtml
Dietitians of Canada: Eat Well, Live Well
http://www.dietitians.ca/public/content/eat_well_live_well/english/index.asp
French recipes
http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/selection_etudiant.cfm
5. Advocacy centre
What is Food Security?
"A community enjoys food security when all people, at all times, have access to nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and culturally appropriate foods, produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just."
"A situation in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes self-reliance and social justice." (Hamm & Bellows, 2003)
Hunger Count 2005
HUNGER HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH FOOD.
That statement may sound strange at first, but the results of the Daily Bread Food Bank's Annual Survey of Food Bank Clients as presented in Who's Hungry: 2005 Profile of Hunger in the GTA continue to indicate that hunger is caused by low income. Consider the evidence:
- The income of food bank clients is about half of the low income cut-offs.
- After rent and utilities are paid, food bank users, on average, have .46 per person per day to cover all other expenses, including food.
- Almost half of food bank clients who work receive a wage above per hour... but are unable to get enough hours at work to earn a sufficient income.
- 98% of people accessing food banks are not homeless... but are spending a disproportionate amount of their income on rent.
- 40% of food bank members identify themselves as having a disability or serious illness that presents them from holding regular employment.
- Nearly half of the people who access food banks have some education beyond high school level.
Lack of government action on poverty and inequality has translated into continued food insecurity and hunger in Canada. According to the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), approximately 8% of Canadians, almost 2.5 million people, had compromised their diets in terms of quantity or quality at least once during 1998/99 because they did not have enough money to purchase the food that they needed. An additional 0.5 million people worried that they would not have enough money to purchase the food that they need. In total, approximately 10% of Canadians, about 3 million people, were considered food insecure.
Campus-based food banks are opening across the country in response to the rapidly rising costs of tuition and living expenses for students. Students made up 42.2% of all campus food bank members in March 2003, of 21 of participating campus-based food banks. According to a survey conducted by The Community Food Room 61% of Ontario universities/colleges contacted have a campus-based food bank in 2004 (A total of 34 universities/colleges were contacted, with a response rate of 75%). At non-campus food banks, students were estimated to comprise 3.4% of all recipients.
According a survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Students, it was found that the average undergraduate debt (nationally) is now over ,000.
Among the main contributing factors to student reliance on emergency food assistance are minimum average tuition fees of more than ,000 per year, a lack of federal grant options, often limited parental contributions, insufficient minimum wages, and decreased loan assistance. The obvious implication of students graduating in debt is the likelihood of living in poverty for the long term, despite the employment options that may await them.
NATIONAL FACTS
- Approximately 8% of Canadians, almost 2.5 million people, had compromised diets in terms of quantity or quality at least once during 1998/99 because they did not have enough money to purchase the food that they needed (National Population Health Survey).
- An additional 0.5 million people worried that they would not have enough money to purchase the food that they needed.
- Approximately 10% of Canadians, about 3 million people, were considered food insecure.
- Students made up 42.2% of all Campus food bank users in March 2003, of 21 of participating campus-based food banks.
- According to a survey conducted by The Community Food Room 61% of Ontario universities/colleges have a campus-based food bank in 2004 (A total of 34 universities/colleges were contacted in Ontario, with a response rate of 75%).
MORE DEMAND NATIONALLY
- Number of people accessing a food bank in one month of 2003: 777,869
- Increase in use since 2002: 5.5%; since 1998: 9.01%; since 1989: 105.8%
- Number of food banks in Canada: 639
RSU'S COMMUNITY FOOD ROOM
- Average number of visits the Community Food Room receives each month: 185
- Boxes of food donated by Ryerson University students, staff, and faculty during the 2005-06 school year: 43
- Number of hours volunteered at the Community Food Room during 2005-06 school year: 550 hours donated by students
CHALLENGES MEETING DEMAND
- Percentage of food banks with difficulty meeting demand: 40%
- Number of pounds of food distributed in one month: 7.03 million
- Full-time equivalent jobs provided by volunteers in one month: 12,473
MORE WORKING FAMILIES
- Percentage of food bank members with jobs: 12.9%
- Percentage of food bank members receiving social assistance: 55.8%
- Monthly cost of groceries for a 4-person family (Dieticians of Canada): 9
- Actual monthly amount a family receiving social assistance has in Ontario for groceries, after paying (CMHC) average rent: 3
6. Volunteer opportunities
Thanks to the hard work of volunteers the Food Room is able to remain open from Monday to Friday during office hours.
At the beginning of each school semester a general volunteer meeting and training for all five-community services group is held. This year we will be having a selection process for our volunteers and we encourage you to apply.
As a volunteer for the Community Food Room, you could help out with our fundraising events, our education and awareness campaigns, the food delivery, the Good Food Box program, and much more. it is a great experience to meet new people and build community!
If you are interested please contact us at foodroom@rsuonline.ca and let us know how you would like to get involved.
7. thINK FOOD: Recycle your cell phone and inkjet cartridges for your local food bank
thINK FOOD began in 2001 as a cartridge-recycling fundraiser for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank.
Today this award-winning project has thousands of businesses, schools and government offices established as collection sites in support of hundreds of local food banks across Canada.
Drop-off boxes are located in the Community Food Room (SCC212) and in the Members' Services Office, SCC101. In June 2004 a box of cartridges was traded for 180 pounds of food for the Daily Bread Food Bank!
This is a program that RSU and The Community Food Room supports. Old ink jet cartridges and cell phones are collected and traded in for food for the food bank. So, stay active and recycle your old and empty ink cartages and cell phones!
For more information on this program, please visit http://www.toronto.ca/parks/thinkfood.htm