Indian-Origin Man Under Fire After Video Claims He Gets "Free Food" From Canada Food Banks

A tweet claiming that an Indian-origin man has been fired from his job after he shared a video explaining how he gets ''free food'' from food banks meant for students in Canada has gone massively viral on social media. In the accompanying video, Mehul Prajapati explains how he saves ''hundreds of bucks'' every month in food and groceries. He said he gets his groceries for ''free'' from food banks established at colleges and universities by non-profit organizations, trusts and churches.

Mr Prajapati also shows his food haul for the week which included fruits, vegetables, bread, sauces, pasta, and canned vegetables. 

''This guy has a job as a bank data scientist for @TD_Canada, a position that averages $98,000 per year, and proudly uploaded this video showing how much “free food” he gets from charity food banks,'' the post shared by @Slatzism on X claimed. However, Mr Prajapti told some outlets that he worked as an intern at TD Bank in Canada for 17 weeks and never got the said amount as salary as claimed in the clip.

Watch the video here:

this guy has a job as a bank data scientist for @TD_Canada, a position that averages $98,000 per year, and proudly uploaded this video showing how much “free food” he gets from charity food banks.

you don't hate them enough. pic.twitter.com/mUIGQnlYu6

— pagliacci the hated 🌝 (@Slatzism) April 20, 2024

The X user later provided an update by sharing a post stating, "Update: the food bank bandit was fired." However, the a screenshot of an email from the bank doesn't say anything about Mr Prajapati being fired, it simply says the "individual named in the video no longer works at TD".

See the post here:

update: the food bank bandit was fired https://t.co/RFLqvVGJb1 pic.twitter.com/CDdrfrmbqI

— pagliacci the hated 🌝 (@Slatzism) April 22, 2024

The video has sparked a debate among users, who slammed him and said that the food bank is meant for the poor and needy.

One user wrote, ''Food banks are often walk in. I used to regularly volunteer at my local food bank. People just come in and take what they need when the bank is open. Up until now, shame has been a guardrail for abuse. People won't come and stand in line unless they genuinely need the help. But some people don't have any shame.''

Another commented, ''Imagine stealing from charity meant for those in desperate need.''

A third said, ''Isn't this some form of felony?? Surely it shouldn't be legal to access food assistance if you are proven to be paid enough to feed yourself.'' A fourth added, ''His handy tip is he goes to the FOOD BANK to save himself a few bucks every month?? Does he think it's the free food goodwill store? He doesn't even know to be embarrassed!''

A few also offered support to him. 

One user wrote, ''Ah, this is sad. He made a mistake, but what is he going to do now that he's jobless? He probably needs this work for immigration, too. Rather shame someone than shame + unnecessary job loss.''

Yet another added, ''just because you know what his job is/what his LinkedIn says, doesn't mean you know his personal situation. also, there is enough food to go round - just look at how much is wasted every day. a fraction of a restaurants waste covers this take tenfold.''