As an international student in Canada, I always have to be mindful of my expenses. Approximately four to five percent of students in Canada are homeless. International students must also compete with others for substandard housing and access to food banks. This is a harsh welcome, but we remain optimistic about our chances.

For Your Consideration: Dumpster Diving

Toronto resident Julia Pak shared her experiences about dumpster diving in the city over the past 20 years. This isn’t a new practice; people have been doing it for a long time, but it’s been skyrocketing lately. This can be attributed to the outrageous prices of basic commodities and rising inflation. Pak has also been dumpster diving since childhood, as she was unhoused as a child.

There is a growing movement in Toronto called the Dumpster Diving Network. One of its members, Michael McKinlay, collects discarded food from dumpsters and places it in a church alcove for the homeless to help themselves. By dawn, the food is gone, taken by the homeless and other people in need. People like McKinlay fashion themselves as food rescuers, taking in food considered not fit for selling and giving it to those who need it.

It Isn’t for Everyone

For international students like me, the idea of social stigma keeps you from doing these things. However, figures from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) tell a different story. A lot of food is wasted per year at the consumer level—222 million tons. That figure is for developed countries alone.

Food aside, there are also many discarded items in Canada that can still be used. Students studying abroad find that their finances are stretched because of expenses like tuition and basic needs. Buying necessities is another burden on their meager funds, so dumpster diving is something they can consider.

Legalities and Such

Is it illegal, though? Lawyers say that it is not a crime, depending on how it is done. Dumpster diving in Canada can be done ethically. If the garbage being sorted through is outside a store's vicinity, people can easily filter through it. There is also a case where the Crown—the law—suggested that garbage that has been discarded is deemed abandoned.

Gathering discarded items or ‘dumpster diving’ is not for everyone. That being said, there are positive effects to this. McKinlay does it for people who have no other way to feed themselves. Pak, for her part, suggests that people should dumpster dive behind Loblaws stores and avoid restaurants altogether.

Dumpster diving is not for everyone. But for the budget-conscious, it is certainly something to consider.

Source/s:
https://globalnews.ca/news/9478653/homelessness-among-canadian-university-students-on-the-rise-professor/#:~:text=Sleeping%20in%20cars%2C%20couch%20surfing,finding%20themselves%20in%20homeless%20situations.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/international-students-face-growing-mental-distress-in-canada-advocates-warn-1.6808663#:~:text=Meanwhile%2C%20more%20stories%20are%20surfacing,on%20a%20student's%20mental%20health.

https://dailyhive.com/canada/canadian-dumpster-diver-saves-money-groceries

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/inside-torontos-growing-dumpster-diving-network/article_e8f08e2e-d1a2-11ee-9de7-f74f6b69e873.html