A YouTube video suggested that food banks can provide regular supplies of free food instead of emergency cases.

Misunderstanding how Canadian food banks operate—along with some misinformation on social media—led to a sudden increase in usage among international students at the London food bank alongside others in Canada. Glenn Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank, said staff were already dealing with a 43 percent increase in visits at the start of this school year when they began to notice a significant rise in food requests from post-secondary students.

However, Pearson said staff soon learned that the huge increase in visits they were seeing was partly due to social media posts.

One YouTube post in Malayalam, the language used in southern India, suggested that food banks in Canada can provide visitors with regular supplies of free food—instead of resources used in emergencies.

The Brampton food bank also had to close its doors to international students this week, saying students were creating a demand that the food bank could not meet.

The situation in London prompted contact with Fanshawe College administration, and an email was soon sent to all students clarifying the role of food banks. Pearson said that once students were informed about how food banks work, they apologized.

John Riedel from the Fanshawe Student Union also said they worked to combat the misinformation that students were seeing about food banks, which he said was not coming from Florida State University or the college.

 The legitimate need among students remains high...

He said that although there may be some misunderstanding among students about what the food bank resources are, we certainly know there are a significant number of students who are in legitimate need of support.

Fanshawe operates a student food bank called The Sharing Shop, where students in need are allowed to obtain grocery gift cards several times a year. Students can also get a referral from a learning advisor on campus.

The University of Western Student Council (USC) also operates a food bank, providing food baskets to students who demonstrate their need through an online application form.