With spring break just around the corner for students, one reality remains unchanged for many families: hunger doesn’t take a break.
For thousands of children in the Lower Mainland, spring break means two weeks without school-provided meals.
Backpack Buddies is deepening its already established partnership with Surrey Schools by stepping in to make sure students in the school district don’t go without food this break.
This B.C.-based charity has been working with Surrey Schools for about eight years and is known for bridging that two-day weekend gap where students are not getting school meals.
“With the rising cost of rent and groceries, many families rely on school meal programs, which aren’t available on weekends or school breaks,” said Emily-anne King, co-founder and executive director of Backpack Buddies.
King shared that Backpack Buddies will be delivering food to children in the school district who may otherwise go without while schools are closed for the 16-day break.
“While many families are packing their suitcases for a fun trip, we’ll be packing backpacks with food so kids can return to school at the end of March not one step behind,” said King.
Since 2012, Backpack Buddies has been addressing the “weekend hunger gap” and now fills around 7,000 backpacks for children across the province every Friday.
“So our goal is to bridge this weekend hunger gap and make sure that our program, along with other food supporters in the community, are providing children with seven days of food security,” King shared with Peace Arch News.
King is hopeful that this pilot project in the Surrey school district is something that can help not only this district but others across the province. “We want to learn and grow this model so that we can keep our program running, in a dream world, at full capacity 12 months of the year.”
Backpack Buddies shares that the schools identify kids who may be struggling, then each week the charity will deliver packs containing nourishing, kid-friendly meals, fresh produce, and snacks for children to take home.
“Community partners like Backpack Buddies play an essential role in supporting the well-being of our students and their families outside of school hours,” said Gary Tymoschuk, chair of the Surrey board of education, in a press release.
Backpack Buddies has created its spring break hamper program for this 16-day rest period. Packs will have more items available than just the ones provided on the weekends – extra fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, rice and beans, canned fish, soup, milk, juice and more.
“We are profoundly grateful for this partnership and the care it extends across our school communities – especially during school breaks, when many students do not have access to school food programs,” said Tymoschuk.
When children have reliable access to nutritious food, they are better equipped to learn, grow and engage in school, he noted in the release.
Tymoschuk shared he is thankful for the help of Backpack Buddies.
“The spring break hamper program provides meaningful support at a critical time, and we deeply appreciate Backpack Buddies’ unwavering commitment to helping our students thrive,” he said.
“Hunger doesn’t take a break,” explained King. “It’s the continued generosity of donors that ensures we can provide nourishment to kids across B.C.”
She says that at Backpack Buddies they provide more than just food.
“We provide consistency and stability that kids can count on week after week. It makes sense that we extend this support over spring break, so these kids have one less worry,” said King.
Learn more about Backpack Buddies or how you can help at backpackbuddies.ca