Struggling students resorting to food banks
The cost of living crisis is driving university students all the way to seeking emergency help.
Food banks are becoming a main source of meals for increasing numbers of students all around the UK. A recent UAL survey found that 48.12% student have cut back on food due to the cost of living crisis.
With inflation currently running at over 10%, and food inflation even higher, the University of The Arts London decided to take matters into its own hands and organise food parcel collections where students with support are able to fill up a tote bag of food and other necessities.
As a univerisity student during this cost of living crisis, I decided to attend one of these collection, to not only fill up my tote with neccesities but also get an insight into the minds of students who are also struggling.
I arrived at the CSM canteen around 1pm which was close to its closing time however there was still a few necessities left. I quickly added a few items into my bag, potatoes, canned tuna, beans and some pasta sauce.
Mary, a 20 year old second year student at UAL picking up some pasta, told me: ”The cost of living crisis has made me cut down my daily meals, so when I received this email I immediately felt relieved about my weekly food shop.”
After talking to her, she said that she was appreciative for these food collection banks in university but wished they happened more often as “one free tote bag full of important necessities wasn’t going to cut it for the whole term”.
I asked her if she considered going to other food banks around London that weren’t university organised but she said that she felt almost ashamed of taking food from the less privileged people.
Like many other students, Mary had to get a job to be able to provide for herself and cover her bills, however she added working has become a distraction from her studies.
Unfortunately, these food collections are only for those who have applied or recieve support from the university, so I decided to run a quick survey of UAL students to find out if there are similar opinions from the students who do not recieve the support.
Over 37% students have 1–2 meal a day, 37.5% have 2–3 meals and 25% have 3–4 meals and when asked if the cost of living crisis affected the meals per day 87.5% students answered ‘Yes’.
Many students have started prioritising rent before making their food shops, “I can physically survive on a missed meal but not if I can’t afford rent,” said one. With an average spend of £20- £25 spent per week on food shops, 37.5% students admit to resorting to food banks for their monthly shops.
More than 6)% others leaned more towards food apps. ‘Too Good To Go’ plays a big part in UAL students meals, providing daily meals from unsold food from restaurants for extremely cheap prices and also reducing the food waste around the UK.
“I normally check ‘Too Good To Go’ in the evenings when restaurants are closing, that way I am able to get food for extremely cheap prices”
Students are resorting to going to the supermarkets in the evenings, to be able to purchase clearence items, attending food banks and using ‘Too Good To Go’ to be able to have more than two meals a day.
Students feel they spend more time working to make extra cash to support themselves than having time to dive deep into their studies.
The cost of living crisis affecting the reach of everyday neccessities like food for students should be extremely concerning, not being able to afford a weekly food shop is an unsettling feeling no student should be have to experience.