Ottawa: An Indian-origin man lost job in Canada for drawing off food from food banks meant for students.
Mehul Prajapati in a video explained how he saves ‘hundreds of bucks’ by tapping into food banks established at colleges and universities.
Mehul Prajapati claimed he get groceries for ''free'' from food banks set up by non-profit organizations, trusts and churches.
In the video he showed ‘free’ food haul for week including fruits, vegetables, bread, sauces, pasta, and canned vegetables.
Following the viral video, TD Bank where he worked reportedly showed him the door.
‘'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,’ an X user captioned the video.
Later updating his post the user announced that Mehul Prajapati lost job, saying: "Update: the food bank bandit was fired."
Alongside it the user also posted the screenshot of the bank’s email which said: "individual named in the video no longer works at TD".
The video led to debates online with many calling out his act saying that food bank are meant for the poor and needy.
One user reacted saying: ''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 user commented: ''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 third user came down heavily saying: ''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!''