The rising cost of food is an issue that weighs on students, but Humber College students must also consider paying for utensils when buying food on campus.
Humber College students are charged an additional 25 cents for plastic forks and utensils, above the cost of food, a policy unknown to many students. And a small survey of other post-secondary institutions in the GTA suggests Humber seems to be the only one hits students with a fee for plastic utensils.
The company that oversees food sales at Humber has not responded to questions from Et Cetera about the sale of plastic utensils.
There’s a federal government deadline approaching that would prohibit anyone from being being able to “sell single-use plastic checkout bags, single-use plastic cutlery, single-use plastic foodservice ware or single-use plastic stir sticks.” The regulations state it comes into effect in December 2023, 18 months after the regulations were registered on June 20, 2022.
Humber student, Mateaus Machado, poses for a photo, in relation to talking about plastic forks. Photo credit: Krishna Bhagnathsingh
Mateaus Machado, a sports management student at Humber College, who has heard of the charge, said the policy seems unfair.
“Honestly, I think it’s just nonsense really,” Machado said.
“It’s just a utensil, like you’re already paying 50 cents for the container, but even if that wasn’t there, 25 cents for a utensil just seems money-gouging,” he said. “I don’t see anyone else doing that.”
Humber student, Julian Ricciuti, didn't know that the college was charging for plastic forks when you buy food. Photo credit: Krishna Bhagnathsingh
Many students were unaware they were absorbing this additional cost.
“It’s a little bit of a surprise,” said Julian Riccitui, a second-year Architectural Technology student.
“For me, I don’t see the issue, but that’s me. A lot of people could have an issue with that and that’s completely fair,” Riccitui said.
Some food establishments that are not official Humber eateries do not charge for forks. According to spokespeople, eateries like Tim Hortons and Pizza Pizza have never charged for forks.
“You should not be paying for the utensils with your meal. Utensils are provided with meals and there is no charge for them at Tim Hortons,” said a Tim Hortons spokesperson in response to a general inquiry.
Pizza Pizza was also contacted via an online inquiry form.
“We do not charge for utensils,” a Pizza Pizza spokesperson said.
The decision to charge for utensils comes from Chartwells Canada, the food services group owned by Compass Group and operates Humber College’s eateries.
A media request was sent to Chartwells Canada and Compass Group Canada regarding why they charge for forks. Chartwells Canada did not respond to requests for comment.
Compass Group Canada stated Pizza Pizza does not charge for utensils, but did not respond to specific requests about charging for forks.
Chartwells also operates at Centennial College and Seneca College, whose general managers did not respond to requests for comment.
Humber student, Peter Joshua Navales, poses for a photo after talking about paying for plastic forks at Humber. Photo credit: Krishna Bhagnathsingh
Peter Joshua Navales, a computer engineering student at Humber, who buys food twice a week at school, said he considers the fee somewhat unfair.
“You have to pay for the [tuition], so having to pay for extra utilities and stuff is kind of unfair,” he said. “You’d think it would be a given, that you’d just take.
“If they were more upfront about it, then it wouldn’t be that much of a problem, but since they don’t say anything, that’s the problem.” Navales said.
Chartwells Canada oversees food services at a number of schools across the country, including Toronto Metropolitan University, and Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Representatives from both schools confirmed they are not charged for utensils.
“Our campus went compostable so our campuses [sic] utensils are not plastic and do not have the same regulations as fork items,” said Corey Scott, a spokesperson from the Toronto Metropolitan University Student Union (TMSU).
Marina Gerges, the president of TMSU, said that to her knowledge, no spots on campus charge for forks or other utensils.
Meagan Kashty, the manager of Public Relations and Communications at Sheridan College, said in a statement Sheridan does not charge for utensils on campus.
Aidan Thompson, vice-president of Public and University Affairs at the University of Toronto, said in an email that to his knowledge, nowhere on campus does the university charge students for forks.
“As a general rule, any food services operated by Chartwell or any other vendor on our campus tend to refrain from distributing plastic cutlery in the first place, and will instead opt for metal or wood when/where possible,” Thompson said.
This decision by Chartwells Canada leaves Humber College as the outlier in terms of utensil charges.
For now, as Ricciuti said, students will continue to feel the pinch of extra charges.
“I mean it’s 25 cents, but at the same time, every dollar counts, every cent counts and knowing that it’s baked into the price of the food that [students] might not know about like I didn’t know about that until you told me.” Ricciuti said.