There is a solution to the problem of food waste at Strachan. If people donate a small amount of money from their meal plan, say just $20 per term, we can buy plenty of food for local homeless shelters every month forever. This could include fresh fruit and vegetables, cereal, protein bars, dried rica and pasta (if Strachan will allow it!) and more. In December, I founded Strachanto (a combination of the words Strachan and Toronto), an initiative to distribute food to homeless shelters, such as Good Shepherd Ministries.
However, to maximise our impact, we need volunteers to donate meal-plan dollars, help coordinate distribution and raise awareness to other staff and students! We already have enthusiastic volunteers from first to fourth year excited to help with the program but we'd always appreciate more helpers. I’m hoping that even more people will volunteer because this is a great project that can make a real impact on our community and environment.
Statistics on Homelessness*
On any given day over 8,700 people in Toronto are experiencing homelessness.
For every 10,000 people in Toronto, 30 are homeless.
In 2018, nearly half of Toronto’s homeless population reported being homeless for over 6 months, which makes them chronically homeless.
Over 30 per cent of Toronto’s homeless live with a mental health issue, and over 25 per cent live with an addiction.
94 per cent of those experiencing homelessness in Toronto want permanent housing, but face barriers in securing it.
80 per cent said they need more affordable housing options.
In the past 10 years, average market rent for a one-bedroom has increased by 33 per cent. In that same time, Ontario Works shelter benefits have increased only 10 per cent.
PLEASE CONTACT ME TO GET INVOLVED!
Instagram: @ratemystrachan
Email: raina.uppal@mail.utoronto.ca
Sources:
*2018 Streets Needs Assessment, City of Toronto. The Street Needs Assessment is a needs assessment survey and point-in time count of people experiencing homelessness in Toronto. The results provide a snapshot of the scope and profile of the City’s homeless population. During the course of the night, a 23 core question survey was completed with more than 2,000 individuals experiencing homelessness staying in shelters.