News
OSAP diet has students tightening belts
Five Ontario university students are hungry for awareness.
Starting yesterday, these students began a 19-day campaign called Food for Thought, co-ordinated by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.
I LOVES ME SOME PBJ. Huron student Andrew Beach is about to sink into a delicious peanut butter and jam sandwich — a new staple in his $7.50 per day diet. Beach is one of five students across Ontario participating in the 19-day Food for Thought campaign coordinated by OUSA.
Participants are attempting to eat a healthy, balanced diet on only $7.50 a day. The figure is based on the amount budgeted for food by the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
OSAP’s 2009-2010 outline for monthly living expenses sets aside $1,045 for a single student living away from home. This amount covers all living expenses, including food, shelter, transportation and miscellaneous. Out of the $1,045, $226 is allotted for food, which works out to the determined $7.50 a day or $2.50 per meal.
As the five students make their way through the OSAP diet experiment, they will track their progress through videos and blog posts on the OUSA website.
“I went grocery shopping last night and kept a running tally of everything as I was going through the store,” said Andrew Beach, a fifth-year student at Western’s Huron University College who is participating in the campaign.
Yesterday morning Beach’s breakfast included toast with peanut butter, milk and orange juice from concentrate, which he watered down to increase the quantity.
“I’m trying to keep a balanced diet, but it’s going to be tough,” Beach said. He also mentioned he’s considering contacting a registered dietician for tips on maintaining a healthy diet on a smaller budget.
Beach added the goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about concerns with OSAP and to encourage changes to get the system working better for students.
“The campaign is inspired by the fact that OSAP falls drastically short of providing the support that students in Ontario need,” Dan Moulton, president of OUSA, said. “The importance of this program is to draw attention to the fact that OSAP isn’t doing enough to help students.”
“I don’t expect many of our [participating] students to have a smooth-sailing [experience],” Moulton added.
OSAP’s food allowance works out to just over $50 per week, which was what Geoff Reid, a third-year student at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, estimated he spent per week on groceries.
Living close to campus, he chooses to go home to eat rather than bringing a packed lunch. 
“$7.50 doesn’t sound like a lot,” Reid admitted. “I guess it’s all perspective.”
Suzana Tosic, a second-year arts and humanities student, agreed it all depends on a student’s lifestyle.
“It depends on if [a student] cooks or not,” Tosic explained. “I cooked a lot, so it was less expensive than eating out all the time.”
Follow Food for Thought on OUSA’s website: http://www.ousa.ca/foodforthought.
9 Comments
[...] Western Gazette Article [...]
OSAP stands fro student ASSISTANCE, folks.
It isn’t meant to carry the entire cost of the years spent in higher education. If the $7.50 per day for food is too low feel free to top it up from your own funds.
On the claim that university is too costly that’s been the standard claim for decades. Students, like just about everyone else, would love to download the cost of what they’re receiving onto everyone else; the problem is that university students just don’t look like the really needy segment of society.
John L says:
March 10, 2010 at 9:35 pm
OSAP stands fro student ASSISTANCE, folks.
It isn’t meant to carry the entire cost of the years spent in higher education. If the $7.50 per day for food is too low feel free to top it up from your own funds…
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You clearly do not use OSAP, because if you did you would realized that the money has to be paid back!
Its a loan… meaning it gets payed back WITH interest to the government.
The reason people get OSAP is because they do not have the ability to “feel free to top it up from your own funds”.
If it gets people through university or college into good paying jobs and makes the government money in the long run… why not increase the amount of loans so students can at least eat healthier.
You can get a part-time job, walk to school and by cheap clothes.
OOPS buy
I have been living on less than $225 a month on groceries for the past 5 years and for 2 of those years I’m not even a student anymore, just frugal. Between my fiancee and I we average $150 a month each well which is well under the $225 each that OSAP would give us. We eat quite well too with fresh berries and other fruit around the house and eatings meals with lots of vegetables in them.
Cereal/Soy milk and a banana for breakfast. Sliced meat, cheese, veggies and a bun for lunch with fruit on the side. For supper Homemade from scratch Spaghetti (1.5 hours to make and freezes 7 days worth for 2 people). Chili 1.5 hours to make 3days worth of chili. Pizza,Tacos,Curry etc.
Just learn how to make food from scratch on the weekend and freeze them to eat later (takes 5-10 mins to reheat). Or have the leftovers in the fridge to eat for the next few days. It is also important to eat the same breakfast and lunch everyday.
If you don’t have a stove or hot plate then you are boned but other then that the only thing you need to tough out is your inability to fit restaurant meals and alcohol into this budget.
$7.50/day for food is a lot! It’s called coupons, discount groceries stores, and cooking! In my undergrad I had a $30/week budget for groceries and survived just fine. I always had the canada food quide posted on my fridge and followed it every day. I got more than enough fresh fruits and veggies in, it’s really not hard. Doing my grad studies, I’ve upped my budget to $35/week which is still less than $7.50/day, and I’d be hard pressed to think of a single day that I didn’t get a good portion of veggies and a few fruits in. I love coupons, I track sales, and am a loyal No Frills shopper. It’s really not hard. I eat meat twice a week, cold cuts 4 times a week, and the rest is easy. Stir fries, pasta, home made bread, potatoes and chicken, home made soup… good old Soviet-era grandma taught me everything I need to know. If you’re going to live off frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, and boxed pre-breaded fish, then yes, you’re going to find it hard. But it’s called a cookbook. Use one.
You know what? When I was in college, OSAP didn’t cover all of my expenses, which is why I worked my guts out the year before I started (grade 12). I hated my job, but it was either do that and get an education, or do this crappy job for the rest of my life.
OSAP tries its best to help students, but, in my opinion, too many students rely too heavily on OSAP these days. Students need to help themselves too, which means working full-time in the summers and part-time (if possible) through out the school year. Applying for grants, bursaries, and scholarships are also beneficial.
I know it’s hard adjusting to adulthood, but you just got to do it.
I think what Andrew and the 4 other students are doing across our province is really important. They are demonstrating one of the flaws of the OSAP system in a very public way. Too many students are dependent on OSAP, but because of the clawback, can’t work to supplement the loan money and are stuck doing what Andrew has volunteered for. That this happens needs to be brought to light. Kudos to Andrew, the other students participating and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.