DISTRICT – Area schools have seen a steadily growing need for assistance to ensure students have enough food to get through the day.
It has been observed that an increasing number of students are coming to school without adequate food or, in some cases, no food at all.
One source of funding for the past five years is no longer available to New Liskeard Public School (NLPS) and many other area schools.
For NLPS, the amount they didn’t receive this year accounted for about one-third of their annual costs.
At the same time, food costs are rising.
Kelly Howard, a child and youth counselor who oversees nutrition programs for New Liskeard Public Schools, said the cost of preparing meals for students has tripled since before the pandemic.
She and Trish Desjardins, an educator with NLPS and Timiskaming Area Middle School, are currently working with the Timiskaming Foundation to advance a new school nutrition fund.
The goal of the new fund is to create a funding source that will be available annually to all schools in the area, from Cobalt to Kirkland Lake to Elk Lake.
Brigid Wilkinson, executive director of the Temiskaming Foundation, said the goal of the fund is to “raise funds to reimburse the school nutrition programs in the 22 schools in the Temiskaming district. It’s similar to the Food Forever fund, which reimburses food banks. It reimburses the schools.”
Grassroots fundraising
A school nutrition fund already exists, and small fundraising efforts are already underway to establish the fund.
For example, on one board member’s birthday, they asked for donations to the fund in lieu of birthday presents. The community band donated a portion of the proceeds from their spring concert to the fund. Proceeds from the Ladies Classic Tournament to be held at Haileybury Golf Club on June 15th will be donated to the fund.
“We’ll be doing a lot of small fundraisers with this project,” Wilkinson explained.
“We want to make sure everyone knows that every little bit helps, and everyone can help.”
We also need volunteers to help spread the word about the new fund, so if you’re interested please contact Wilkinson. Cheques are also welcome, of course.
The Temiskaming Foundation will be working on promotional activities and raising awareness this summer.
Canada’s Great Giving Challenge
“In addition, this month we are participating in CanadaHelps’ Great Canadian Giving Challenge,” Wilkinson said.
Every dollar donated will give the Foundation a chance to win $10,000. To donate to the School Nutrition Fund through the challenge, visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/temiskaming-foundation and select the School Nutrition Fund from the drop-down menu. There will also be prizes available for donors through the challenge.
Howard noted that area businesses and grocery stores have been observed collecting donations for school nutrition programs, with much of the money going to schools in areas such as Toronto.
“There’s nothing that’s particularly north-specific for us,” Howard said.
Different schools have different methods for providing extra meals to students: At NLPS, nutrition containers are available in each classroom;
At St. Patrick School in Cobalt, breakfast is provided to students every day.
Englehart Public Schools recently held a Pancake and Pyjama Day.
Timiskaming District Secondary School will have a breakfast program four days a week.
“Increasing needs”
Desjardins said she has noticed “an increased need for food throughout the day.” “I work in the seventh and eighth grade halls, and we see some students there who don’t eat any food at all.”
There is a clothing store and food pantry at the front of the school, but Desjardins created a food pantry for seventh and eighth graders because they need chaperones. Currently, her mother and aunt are funding the food pantry for the seventh and eighth graders, she said.
One class at the school makes about 30 hot lunches every Tuesday, but they are gone by Wednesday or Thursday.
“We would love to see some of these budgets increased because we know they are being spent and our kids need it. But right now, we just don’t have the funds to meet the needs we face.”
Howard added that the loss of some funding this year, plus rising food prices, has left them “quite stretched thin”.
As well as donating to the CanadaHelps Challenge or sending a cheque to help establish a new fund, you are also encouraged to support the School Nutrition Fund fundraising efforts.
“A lot of people don’t realize what an issue this is in our community and that there are so many students who really need help,” Wilkinson said.
Desjardins added that they have started a $5 challenge among school staff and hope to expand the challenge to other schools and organizations.
Darlene Rowe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker
