There is Such A Thing as a Free Lunch – Free Food On Campus

My physics teacher in Grade 12 who is a U of T alum told me that "There's no such thing as a free lunch" - i.e. nothing in life comes free, you need to work for it. My friend Danielle and I were both in his physics class and we shared our first bought chicken poutine from the blue food truck campus when we visited U of T. Little did we know about all the free food on campus that was to come!

As instructed, I've worked... on finding free food on campus.

    I wrote a post on staying in the know about events on campus (that usually bait me in with free food) earlier this year. Here are some specific free snacks/ meal events on campus in case you forgot to pack a lunch or are trying to save up for something else.

Regenesis Youth Food Centre Community Meal I've been to Regenesis' Free Shop two times now and I've been able to give a few pre-loved items new homes. Once, I even took home some fresh made bread home for free. I can't wait for the upcoming community kitchen this week, in which we'll be making Pad Thai for dinner!

When: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. usually Wednesdays Where: Campus Co-Operative Residence 596 Spadina Ave Hart House Coffee Connections 

I fell in love with Hart House even before I learnt that snacks and free food were regularly housed under their roof to bring students together. During the summer and the beginning of the school term, they usually have barbecues. As winter has rolled around, they have free coffee, daily! When: 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Weekdays Where: HH Reading Room

Shut Up and Write! by Gerstein Information Centre I love the pomodoro method and use it to ensure that I don't sit for too long working on one thing, especially in libraries. Similar to study hubs (also stocked with snacks), these pomodoro sessions in Gerstein make being productive a lot easier!

When: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Where: Gerstein's Alice Moulton Room CIE Soup n' Social Want a warm bowl of soup and new friends to share it with? I was surprised to see my exchange friends that I met at the HH Farm Equinox trip at the soup social. We were able to catch up and I met a few more students on exchange while having a hearty lunch. When: 12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Where: Centre for International Experience Baldwin Room Yes, we do pay for services in our fees but I've been to many of these free things and most of them usually overestimate how much food they need to order (unless it's free bubble tea, that's gone in a hot second). I usually end up taking seconds, and even a little doggy bag for later! So share the free food with your friends and comment below if you know of events coming up!