Let’s eat! Why Ryerson needs an outdoor winter food hub

Soon, nearly 45,000 Ryerson community members will descend onto our downtown campus. For the first time in nearly two years, students and staff alike will animate the new Gould Street and connect with old and new friends.

This sounds great, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Winter, COVID-19, 45,000 people. Students will be bundled up and hurrying to get out from the cold and into a warm classroom. The Covid-19 pandemic safety precautions will still be around, such as restrictions on indoor eating and vacating classrooms to allow the air to circulate.

These challenges are not unlike what we’ve faced throughout the pandemic. Most of us will want to stay in the warmth as much as possible. We need breaks to take off our masks outdoors, as well as some face-to-face time socializing with classmates.

And of course, we need to eat. Access to good, healthy food is a necessity that not enough students have. In fact, in 2018, nearly two in five of Ryerson students experienced moderate to severe food insecurity – three times the national average.

The “starving student” stereotype shouldn’t be accepted as some right of passage. 

Ryerson has an existing wealth of experience, knowledge and skills on this matter. There is the School of Nutrition, the Centre for Studies in Food Security, and the Good Food Centre at the Toronto Metropolitan Students' Union to name a few.

Finally, let’s not ignore the reality that Ryerson’s downtown location puts it in proximity to homeless shelters, a safe injection site, and other social services. Public streets weave through our campus and our unhoused neighbours have always been visible on them. They too will be affected by the return to campus. 

With all of this in mind, what can we do to ensure that Ryerson and the surrounding community undergo a safe recovery and reopening?  Can we address the challenges that the winter brings and meet them with solutions? And, how can we tap into existing knowledge to help students overcome food insecurity?

My proposal

First, I recommend establishing an outdoor area with picnic tables to gather and eat, seating to relax, and heaters to stay warm. It should be simple, open and welcoming -- no need to purchase anything or have your identification checked to enjoy. A large outdoor eating area will allow anyone to safely and comfortably have a moment to take off their masks and enjoy themselves. Why should summer be the only time we let ourselves gather and eat outdoors? 

Secondly, I recommend pairing the outdoor eating area with a free lunch service. That’s right, completely free to anyone, no questions asked. Could this work? Yes, in fact, other universities have already done it. Concordia University in Montreal (external link)  has two student-run services that provide free meals to anyone [ed: funded by a student levy]. Their only ask is for volunteers to pitch in their time to help cook and clean dishes. This is a great idea - let’s bring it to Ryerson to help anyone get a warm, healthy meal in a dignified manner. To make it sustainable, ingredients for the lunch can be supplied by Ryerson’s own urban farm and community partners such as Foodshare. Both of whom have already been distributing boxes with locally grown produce to students during the pandemic.

How exactly will this help us recover from the pandemic? Or make us more resilient?

The Good Food Centre at Ryerson offers a food bank, educational workshops and advocates to end food insecurity on campus. Even before the pandemic, they reported in their Hunger Report that nearly 40% of students reported experiencing food insecurity, with a further 8% experiencing severe food insecurity. Meals are skipped or portions are considerably reduced.

Another study, conducted in 2016 by Meal Exchange in collaboration with five Canadian universities, including Ryerson, found that high cost of tuition, food, and housing to be the most common barriers to food. In addition, a third of surveyed students reported difficulty accessing culturally relevant foods. 

Food insecurity is not experienced equally. People with lower incomes are at the highest risk of facing food insecurity and Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) are disproportionately affected as well. In Canada, Black households were found to be  (PDF file) 3.5 times more likely to experience (external link)  food insecurity compared to white households. The Good Food Centre reported that 73% of its users are BIPOC. 

Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these problems, especially in already vulnerable populations. Sudden job loss and reduced wages, stay-at-home orders, and empty shelves due to panic buying made accessing food harder. In addition, supply chains were threatened by COVID-19 outbreaks in factories and the unavailability of migrant workers.

As mentioned earlier, the Good Food Centre at Ryerson offers a food bank, but itself acknowledges the limits of it. Constraints with budget, space, food supply, and operation hours means that the amount of food it can provide to members is limited. In addition, despite best efforts, food banks face barriers in sourcing foods that are halal, kosher, gluten-free or dairy-free.

With the effects that Covid had on food security, I believe that a free, hot, culturally relevant meal sourced from local ingredients can go a long way to recover and ease food insecurity.

Why should the university and the student union care?

The Good Food Centre found that food insecurity correlates with poor mental health, increased anxiety and depression, as well as reduced concentration and academic performance. It also results in a lot of stress, shame, and diminished physical health. Addressing this would have an immediate effect on student performance and wellbeing.

Ryerson is known for using the city and its local issues as a living lab and educational opportunity. The university has a Centre for Studies in Food Security, which offers a certificate in food security and in urban agriculture. The centre also has multiple projects and partnerships, including the urban farm, a market where it sells its harvest from the urban farm, and a partnership with the Black Food Sovereignty Alliance of Toronto. Implementing a free daily meal service would be an excellent research opportunity to explore the implementation of a post-covid local supply chain and its impact on food security in the community.

There is also an educational opportunity for students outside of those programs to learn about food security, supply chain resilience, urban farms, and the number of organizations working in this field. Furthermore, other free social services and wellness resources on campus can be promoted.

Finally, Toronto Metropolitan University and the Toronto Metropolitan Students' Union both have a goal of improving equity and the wellbeing of its community members. Reducing the high rate of food insecurity within our own university, especially when we have great leadership within the Good Food Centre and the Centre for Studies in Food Security, should be essential to achieving this goal.

Where would we go from there?

In the future, this outdoor hub could be made into a permanent, year-round fixture. I envision expanding the hub by adding a permanent market that offers locally harvested produce on campus during all seasons. Or, pop-up spaces for student-run initiatives such as cooking classes. Finally, we can even go beyond food and add some attractions that will bring even more life to campus in the winter.

A free meal a day won’t solve food security on its own. However, anyone who has volunteered or worked to help feed people knows the impact that a single meal can have. The repercussions of skipping that meal has an even bigger impact. Food connects us and heals, which most of us need after such a long time apart.