A school in Dartmouth, N.S., is stepping up to help ease the burden on students and families who find themselves short on supplies in the lead-up to Christmas and the new year.
Prince Andrew High School teacher Kurt Chadwick has launched a pantry program called the Panther Pantry out of his classroom to make food accessible for students, and to have them become active contributors to securing food for themselves and their families.
“We’ve had great support from some local organizations and community and from the students as well. And we’ve had a lot of donations already, both gifts of food and funds,” said Chadwick, who hopes to have the pantry open in January.
“The goal is to have this as a student-run initiative and we will be using student volunteers. We’ve got quite a long list already. We’re very lucky to have been given a classroom space to convert and dedicate to the pantry,” he added.
Chadwick said the students are getting organized to run the pantry and are also educating themselves on food insecurity.
“We hope for that to be a learning experience for everybody that’s involved here. And we’re really reaching out to build some great partnerships so we can all learn from this and make sure that we have access to the food that we need,” Chadwick said.
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Dartmouth East MLA Tim Halman, who is a former teacher at the school, is acting as the go-between to help raise community awareness for the initiative and to talk to businesses about jumping on board as well.
“In Dartmouth specifically, the need is enormous,” said Halman.
He said the need can be seen in the number of programs that have been launched to help families and residents, such as the Festive Families program linking businesses and families that require support, as well a seniors’ program in Dartmouth East facilitated through We Are Young.
“There’s a lot going on here, along with the Panther Pantry program,” said Halman.
In early October, Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph released a report stating that the average Canadian family is set to spend a lot more at the grocery store.
This year’s report forecasts that overall food prices in Canada will increase between two and four per cent, and that the average Canadian family will spend $12,667 on its annual grocery bill — an increase of $487 compared to the 2019 model.
One of the events that have triggered this rise in price is the COVID-19 pandemic.
But even though it has been a challenging year on many levels in Nova Scotia, Halman said that because of the leadership of the teacher at the school and the help of students and staff, the Panther Pantry is a “really good program that’s being initiated.”
He said he would want his kids in Chadwick’s classroom.
“Kurt understands the most important thing when it comes to education. And that’s how teachers teach by example. And he’s leading the way,” Halman said.
The Panther Pantry’s activities and announcements can be found on Instagram and Twitter.