This family restaurant is collecting school supplies for kids in need this September

A south Edmonton restaurant is collecting school supplies for the Edmonton Public School Foundation.

A restaurant that welcomes loud, messy family dinners is looking to support as many kids as they can during back-to-school with a supply drive.

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The Varsity is an independent restaurant that began as a way to make a kid-friendly space in the Edmonton restaurant scene.

It’s a standard kitchen, bar and burger joint, save for a growing pile of school supplies sitting at the front.

That pile is for the Edmonton Public School Foundation. The Varsity is collecting as many school supplies as they can before Sept. 9.

“We named The Varsity based after universities and school, and that’s what our theme is,” said director of operations Brandi Craner.

“There’s always a need. There’s a need for everything in the community, and we know that education is important for everyone.”

The Varsity started because of a kid, Craner said, so it only makes sense for them to give back to kids.

“We were out for dinner one day and we weren’t able to have a quiet family dinner, because my son’s not quiet … We wanted to have a dining establishment that was family-friendly and fun for everyone,” she said.

The drive only started a day ago, but the restaurant’s staff have already made donations and are spreading the word.

Craner said they’ll take donations of anything that kids in need could use for the season: notebooks, binders, lunch bags, water bottles, markets, pens, pencils, erasers and more.

“The list goes on,” said Craner, but noted that complete details are available on their website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Cameron Wiebe