Hundreds of families picked up backpacks full of school supplies at Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank’s annual back-to-school program in Halifax on Wednesday. “Our goal is always to do 1,000, and this year we had about 300 applications which translated to 950 backpacks going out today,” says Anastasia Payne, Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank’s communications coordinator and grant writer. Wednesday is one of the team’s busiest days of the year. Pick up begins at 9 a.m. and goes until 6 p.m. The goal is to provide students with all the school essentials they will need for success come September. The team at Parker Street will get a list from the schools of each child who has registered with them of all the school supplies they will need. Then they fill each backpack with the items required for the grade. “If you are going to primary you get some notepads, crayons, pencils, erasers, scribblers, the actual backpack. Some years, if it’s available, we will add a lunch box or something and as you go up through the grades if it’s something specific they may need than we will add that to the bag as well,” says Payne. Families who left with backpacks expressed gratitude throughout the day. Some parents took one and others took two or three or in some cases six. “I take a backpack for back to school and it helps,” says Elham Alkbaz. “I came today with a backpack for children, thank you thank you very much,” says Afineti Talloman. Those at Parker Street see the difference the program makes and they know the need far too well. Their food bank serves about 400 people per week. “A lot of people are just getting by as it is. When you get that list asking you to spend $75 to $150, that can really hit people where it hurts, especially if they have multiple kids so we know that people coming and looking for this kind of support, they really need it,” says Payne. Many Maritimers and business get involved with the program each year through monetary or backpack donations. “A lot of the actual backpacks are just donations and that’s typically how it works. We put a call out, we start a few months in advance just asking people to donate some backpacks, some supplies or some time, and then we put it all together,” says Payne. Those at Sherwin-Williams Paints in Halifax had a barbeque earlier this summer where they raised enough money to support 27 bags full of supplies to the program. Employees like Amanada Lockie volunteered to hand them out. “Children are important and if they don’t have the right supplies then they don’t get to succeed at school so we want the next generation to succeed,” says Lockie. The day meant a lot to Elham Alkbaz, who says she relies on the program to get school essentials for her 14 and 17-year-old. “I need help to go back to school. In Canada, in Halifax, it’s expensive,” says Alkbaz. The team at Parker Street is grateful for all the community support. “We know the need is there, it’s always growing. We are constantly getting questions and applications and people looking for our furniture support and support through programs like this. This one is especially unique because sometimes the people that come for a backpack may not necessarily be our regular food clients but have just enough to get them through but when a large expense comes up like this they may not have an extra $150 to give,” says Payne. Parker Street welcomes volunteers year round and donations for those who are able to do so. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
