What is the FEED Levy
The Food Equity & Education Drive (FEED) levy was established by student-wide referenda in Fall 2025 to be collected starting September 2026. The fund is meant to fund graduate student food security initiatives at the University of Toronto. This includes a wide breadth of programs including providing sustained funding for pre-existing food security initiatives, such as free lunches, food banks and other community food security events, but it also will include new grants & food relief programs and student-led initiatives. This will include an application process launched this October 2026.
You have the ability to opt-out of this fee once per year. If you opt-out of the fee, you will not be permitted to access these programs and services.
Referenda Question
“Do you agree to the creation of a refundable $4.00 per semester fee for full-time students and $2.00 per semester fee for part-time students, starting in September 2026, adjusted annually based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index, collected and managed by UTGSU, and applicable in the fall and winter terms, to fund a food security program including:
- Discretionary food security and justice projects
- Emergency food relief and grants
- Infrastructure for student-run food structures and centres, including kitchen(s), storage, and growing spaces
- Student group initiatives
- Subsidized and free food programs that ensure equitable and affordable access to nutritious food.
Required Documentation
You will be required to provide a document that shows your name, the fee charge and the dated academic sessions that you have been charged fees for. Most commonly, this is your ACORN statement. This may be provided as a PDF. Letters of offer/acceptance are not eligible documentation.
The fees should show up on your ACORN as follows, and would be charged for each academic session:
Full-time Student ACORN:
- Incid. Stud.Soc.:GSU Food Eq&Edu-FT $ 4.00
Part-time Student ACORN:
- Incid. Stud.Soc.:GSU Food Eq&Edu-PT $ 2.00
Opt-Out Period
- Fall-Winter Period: September 14, 2026 – October 9, 2026
- Winter Start (new students starting Winter 2027 only): January 6, 2027 – January 29, 2027
Opt-outs received after this period are not eligible.
Refund Process
The UTGSU will process refunds at the end of the opt-out period and after the drop-period for the Fall or Winter period when data can be verified with the Office of the Vice-Provost Students. The UTGSU will notify eligible recipients when opt-outs are ready for pick up. Due to the small refund, opt-outs will be available for pick up at the UTGSU Office (16 Bancroft Avenue) with alternative arrangements for the UTM, UTSC and UTIAS campuses.
Recipients will have six (6) months to pick up their cash refunds. After this time, refunds will be returned to the UTGSU.
Opt-Out Form
You will required to login with a Rubric account. We have set up single sign-on (SSO) with your mail.utoronto.ca accounts. If you have a pre-existing society / student group login, please open the tab incognito.
When logging in via the SSO you may be redirected to the main general page. If you get redirected, revisit this page and travel to the link again OR go to the UTGSU society page.