Calgary school food programs are in demand like never before

Packing school lunches may seem like a chore to many parents, but there are a growing number of Calgarians who can't do it.

School meal programs across the city are stretched to the limit, with thousands of children relying on nutritious meals five days a week. One local organization is working tirelessly to help end food insecurity in Calgary schools.

Bethany Ross with Brown Bag for Calgary Kids says their organization will serve lunch to more than 6,000 children each day at the start of this school year. By the end of the academic year, this number will exceed 7,000.

“More than 30 percent of children in our province will experience food insecurity in 2023,” he says.

According to Ross, thanks to generous donors and partnerships like ARC Resources, they are able to provide nutritious meals to children 12 months a year. Each lunch costs $3.50.

“We encourage people to donate time or funds to Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids,” she says. “But there are so many other organizations in town that people can connect with and help make a difference.”

Sarah Johnson with ARC says Calgarians have an opportunity to double their impact in May. The organization will allocate $50,000 each May for the next five years to match all campaign donations to Brown Cupping.

Ross said the need doesn't diminish as they go into the summer months and work with community partners to provide lunches to hungry kids at camp.

“Summer can be a very difficult time for families who don't have access to school meals,” she says. “There are various jobs to help the children during the summer.”

Brown Bags for Calgary Kids works with the City of Calgary, the YMCA, the Calgary Food Bank and several other day camps to expand its reach throughout the year.

Like school food programs The Calgary Food Bank continues to see high demand despite falling inflation. The food bank says it serves 700 families a day.

Alberta received a failing grade when it came to fighting poverty in its latest poverty report cards. Many other provinces in the country have also failed.

A quarter of Canadians say they are food insecure, and half of Albertans surveyed feel worse off than they did last year, the report said.