‘Think about those kids’: Start of summer means an end to school lunch programs for students

Maritime food banks are preparing for a busy summer as school lunch programs come to an end.

The end of the school year also means an end to school lunch programs for the summer.

Charities that provide food for those in need say they are worried about the difficulties this could present for children that rely on these lunches.

“I just think about those kids that won’t get that food for two months and what that will mean for them,” says Michelle Porter, Soul’s Harbour Rescue Mission CEO.

Organizations like Souls Harbour Rescue Mission are concerned about the number of children that go hungry in our region.

“One thing we are seeing at our Halifax location, as well as our other locations, is an increase in children coming for meals specifically because it’s summertime. Because you have kids that aren’t fortunate enough to go to summer camps, so where do they come – the mission,” adds Porter.

Demand continues to grow

Other charities, like Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank, are also seeing a growth in demand.

“It’s not just single parent families with one income, it’s not just people with low income, it’s not just people living on the bare minimum. It’s people that are working probably good jobs, but they are having to make a choice now because everything else around them that surrounds taking care of themselves is so expensive that the food bank becomes the option for them,” said Romaine Rhoden, director of donor relations at the Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank.

Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank provides around 100 food boxes a day to families in need. In addition, they also have both children and parents stopping by daily for snacks and drinks.

“For the last couple of months, we have seen a slight increase in our clientele which tells me there is still a great need within the municipality for our food services,” says Rhoden.

More children using food bank services

Although they do not provide food to children directly, Rhoden says they are seeing a number of families with children using their services.

“Within the last couple of months, we have seen maybe a ten per cent increase of clientele with families with children,” said Rhoden.

The boxes they supply are intended to last a couple of days but with school being out and kids home for summer, they are trying to add more to their boxes.

“We now have to think about extending that box and giving much more than we normally give,” says Rhoden.

What these groups are seeing in their lineups supports the findings in a December 2024 report that shed light on the staggering number of children going hungry within the region.

“We think it’s a growing problem in Halifax and here at Parker Street you can tell because of the clientele and the long lines you see every single day. You can tell by the number of deliveries that we have to do on a Tuesday. You can tell based on the number of food that we have been trying to garner for,” said Rhoden.

Souls Harbour has seen such an increase in demand for their services that they recently opened another location in Sydney, N.S.

“Something that surprised me with the Souls Harbour that just opened in New Waterford, N.S., is that we are already seeing 60 to 80 people a day and we have only been open for weeks, the need is great,” says Porter.

Both of these organizations are always looking for donations and support from the public, in the form of food, clothing and funds. People can donate, by dropping things off at their locations or donating online through their websites.

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