As part of a protest against the province’s student aid program, five Ontario undergraduate students are entering the annals of martyrdom by budgeting just $7.50 a day for food—apparently this is what the Ontario Student Assistance Plan (OSAP) allows them. The students will be stringently frugal for three weeks in the name of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance’s Food for Thought campaign, intended to highlight the fact that OSAP doesn’t provide enough income for students. “OSAP assumes students should live below the poverty line, and that’s not good,” one student told the Star.
The soon-to-be-starving students are pledging to give up their Starbucks and Subway, with one student—gasp—deciding to crack open a cookbook: “I guess I’ll start trying out recipes.” Despite such preparations, and since success on the budgeting front would spell disaster for the campaign, we’re left wondering if it makes sense for students with an agenda to participate in such an undertaking.
• $7.50 a day is all you get on the student OSAP diet [Toronto Star]
I think the tone here is inappropriate. Yes, for a rich student used to eating out, giving up Starbucks is a bit snicker-worthy. But the point is that MANY students can’t dream of such luxuries, rely on foodbanks etc – because of the 7.50 a day OSAP allowance.
You think it’s so funny, you do it. And not just for a week – for years. It pretty quickly gets trying.
March 11, 2010 at 10:05 am | by a.g.$7.50 isn’t enough for one day. Especially not for students who are in residence on a meal plan. For $7.50 a day you can get fries and a burger. Good luck stretching that over three meals.
March 11, 2010 at 10:11 am | by JKWake up and smell the coffee, living below the poverty line is a reality for many people including myself. I cook my own meals and only drink take out coffee if I have the spare change.
March 11, 2010 at 10:34 am | by JNGPart of the problem is that students – who usually don’t have much cooking experience – live on very tight budgets without knowing how to cook. Even I tried really hard to cook in university, and ended up producing some really spectacular failures (i think using curry spices as “flavouring” rather than understanding that you have to fry them was the worst).
A good solution are community cooking classes, food share setups (where one person cooks multiple portions of a meal and then exchanges those with other people), etc. The kinds of things that help teach students how to cook and stretch their budgets. And 7.50 a day is 52.50 a week which while low, was not too far below my food budget in those days.
March 11, 2010 at 10:41 am | by roncesvallerSounds like a bunch of spoiled lazy brats looking for hand outs. What ever happened to a part time job? Working summers to save some money? You want the government to spoon feed you all through life? This is the real world, get used to work, it’s what you have to do to survive. The government gives out the proper amount, what we as Canadians can afford and remember how much of that they never see back because of irresponsible borrowers!
March 11, 2010 at 10:56 am | by MCWhen did the definition of OSAP become “student welfare program”? When I was in university and post-grad (not that long ago), you went out and got a part-time job in addition to OSAP if ends didn’t meet.
Wow, talk about the increasingly annoying sense of entitlement from the coming generation.
March 11, 2010 at 11:07 am | by Jenne@MC Most full-time students don’t have enough time for a part-time job. In between balancing all the classes, homework, sleep, and volunteering a minimum-wage part-time job doesn’t fit in. It is very difficult to be in school and worry about money at the same time. And students eat a lot! We need the energy. Even if you cook at home, a $7.50 a day diet, would not allow for healthy, nutricious food other than bananas.
March 11, 2010 at 11:15 am | by MAI recently graduated from university. I originally didn’t qualify for OSAP because my parents made too much money. The big problem there was that my parents did not fund my education which is what the government assumed. I worked in the summers earning enough money for my tuition and rent for the year. During the school year I worked a part time job to make money for daily living including food. I did it, it’s possible. These students sound spoiled. Even as working adult I still don’t purchase Starbucks tea. First of all because there are tons of better fair trade teas out there from local shops and Starbucks doesn’t have recyclable or biodegradable cups. But also because I CAN’T AFFORD IT! I don’t understand why these students think Starbucks and eating Subway is a necessity. Referring to the Toronto Star article, I also had class during the day and work in the evening. I never even though about picking up something to eat for dinner. I would pack a lunch AND a dinner. Aren’t students supposed to be smart? Shouldn’t they figure it out?
March 11, 2010 at 11:23 am | by KayTo those five undergrad students, be thankful that you even got OSAP at all! I saved a good portion of my college tuition from the age of 14. I lasted the first year and a half debt free. It was only in third year that I was finally eligible for OSAP, but barely got enough to cover tuition. So, I still had to work part-time on campus between classes. The rest of the money I needed to stay in school came from loans which took me years to pay off.
I was absolutely shocked my first few weekends at college watching the local pubs fill up with students blowing their OSAP on beer and wings in the name of “social networking” with classmates. These same students were crying the blues come end of semester as their tummies gurgled from lack of food while still holding Second Cup in their hand to keep awake.
Why not TEACH students about money and cooking while they are still in high school? Remember Home Economics? I do, but only from Gr. 7 & 8! As an advanced student it was never mentioned to me as a “necessity” course from my guidance teacher. It was more important to fill my head with numbers and words by attending the Math, Science and English classes. I envied friends of mine who were “general” students as they chatted about what real life skills they learned from their “suggested” courses such as Parenting. There’s a real stigma for “advance” students to take “general” courses. Shameful.
Thank goodness I had caring parents who taught me the value of a dollar by sending me out to work part-time at a young age and the wonders of preparing leftovers from the fridge! Oh, and by the way, my credit rating has never suffered because I kept my credit card in my wallet unless the purchase was truly important.
March 11, 2010 at 11:52 am | by RAGSeriously, people need to calm their nerves. OSAP was never meant to be the GOLDEN TICKET. It was meant to help out. It’s not a free hand-out either, it’s a loan. If you want to further your education, it’s nobody else’s responsibility but your own. More OSAP money will just make life harder for you in the long-run anyways. Paying $400/month for the next 13 years on OSAP payments is high ENOUGH.
Step up, get a job, save some money, tighten the belt, and just DO IT. And complaining that you can’t afford food on OSAP is just nonsense. Forget Starbucks and Subway… even moderately wealthy people shouldn’t be eating $13 meals and drinking $5 coffees every day, that’s just irresponsible. Let’s look at the meal plan. Just because you’re a student, doesn’t mean you HAVE to eat at the school’s cafeteria. It’s there to make money, not to help you study or save anything. It’s often more expensive than most restaurants just outside the school. Mealplans are for upper-class or rich students who have the luxury of being too lazy to find alternative methods.
When I was in school, I survived off of OSAP and I lived within my means. Not only did I fill my stomach every day, but I did with GOOD FOOD and I even had money left over for some leisure. Learn to cook, and if you’re reasonable with your groceries, it will work out. If you need more money, get a job.
March 11, 2010 at 1:23 pm | by ZakAm I missing something? $7.50/day x 30 days = $225/month for food. As a working adult, I spend $160/month on groceries.
I make the majority of my meals from this (I’m vegetarian and consume very few processed or pre-packaged foods, both because they’re less healthy and because they’re considerably more expensive).
I do eat out sometimes, to socialise or to treat myself. I can afford to. As a student, I did not. I put my coffee in a travel mug and had potlucks with friends. Actually, I still do this.
I don’t understand why a person can’t eat well on this amount. Ditch the overpriced takeout and you’ll be fine. Healthier too.
March 11, 2010 at 3:38 pm | by LinaPart of the point here is that OSAP has not moved with the times and cost of living. With 16% unemployment in the student / part time sector, it’s imaginable that someone would be unable to fund their education.
March 11, 2010 at 4:12 pm | by ChantalBy the way, how does one cook, living in residence? I never lived in residence so I don’t understand these things?
March 11, 2010 at 4:13 pm | by ChantalAre you kidding? You can easily live off of $50 a week. Last time I checked, whole loaves of bread cost less than $3 and you can still get various condiments for less than $10. Bananas are cheap too and water is free. That covers lunches. Dinner can include pasta, rice, and whatever cheaper veggies and meat you can find at the grocery store because they’re going to expire the next day. All quite healthy, cheap, and simple to make.
Although I’m pretty sure a lot of students spend that amount in one night of drinking.
March 11, 2010 at 4:50 pm | by MelanieWait, who are the martyrs here? All I’m reading is a bunch of folks reminising on how when they went to school they had to walk up hills both ways. The plain and simple fact is that OSAP is a broken loan (not a hand out). Looking just at the food allowance 7.50 is much too small of an amount as the number isn’t set to inflation or CPI, and the posters here seem to be disregarding the costs of transportation and kitchenware. If you’re not a student I could see how you might overlook such costs. But seriously, let the kids eat.
March 11, 2010 at 5:03 pm | by griffin carpenter