A surge in students - particularly international students continues to increase at North Bay's soup kitchen.
Dennis Chippa, executive director of The Gathering Place, located on Cassells Street near downtown North Bay, says they have seen a dramatic increase in students coming for meals.
"Many of them are international students but we are seeing students of all sorts coming in through here so," Chippa said.
"We are seeing a dramatic increase in folks coming in here - especially for the evening meals, that are students from one of the post-secondary institutions and we have seen a lot more students coming in for lunches as well."
Chippa admits he's no expert, but he believes part of the issue is students cannot juggle a school and work schedule.
"I think they are struggling to find work, I think they are struggling to find housing and they are struggling with food insecurity," he said.
"We have always identified that students are a vulnerable population when it comes to food insecurity and I think some of these students probably cannot afford a meal plan so they don't come here with a lot of money. I think a lot of the students are coming to school and they may be financially unprepared. I think they may be unprepared for cooking and with prices increasing for everything across the board, including food, I think they are just struggling."
Back in September of 2023, international students were protesting at Canadore College due to a lack of housing which Canadore addressed. A number of those students were concerned they could not afford the cost of living in North Bay and the area.
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On Monday, the Federal Government announced it is putting a two-year cap on international student admissions.
The cap will mean a 35 per cent overall reduction in new study visas this year though some provinces, including Ontario, will see a reduction of 50 per cent or more.
Chippa feels the increase in demand at the Gathering Place for all ages is becoming a concern.
"Our December donations were down," admitted Chippa.
"Our annual donations at Christmas were down. If that is a trend, and we have never said this kind of thing - we are doing the best we can. But if our donations are down and our numbers are up, it is not a positive trend.
"When you have 140 people coming through your door, the costs go up. So when the donations are down and the costs go up it is not a positive trend for a donation-based agency."
With files from The Canadian Press
