‘Left to fend for themselves’: Sask. kids left hungry as food bank numbers increase

As grocery prices continue to climb and Saskatchewan residents face increased inflationary pressures, the number of people accessing food banks is on the rise, with many of them children.

“We’re seeing a huge increase in the amount of children having to access food banks,” said Michael Kincade, executive director of Food Banks Saskatchewan.

He said there’s been a 37 per cent increase over the last year in people needing to use food banks, adding that 40 per cent of people accessing food banks are children.

“We serve about 44,000 people a month across Saskatchewan.”

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Kincade said breakfast and lunch programs for kids that would usually be put on by schools or communities tend to dry up during the summer.

“For the most part, they’re kind of left to fend for themselves.”

Kincade pointed toward the Food to Learn campaign that Food Banks Saskatchewan works on in partnership with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, noting money gets raised for food banks and they build awareness of the growing need for food banks in the province.

He said the summer months are typically a time when food banks see a decrease in donations.

“We’ve seen a huge decline in donations as it is with our cost of living rising. There isn’t that disposable income anymore.”

He said they’ve seen a lot more people with incomes using food banks.

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“People are just walking the line, just being able to make ends meet. These are your friends, your family and your neighbours that are having to access food banks now to help more than ever.”

Deborah Hamp, director of operations with the Saskatoon Food Bank, spoke about another initiative called the Fresh Fruit for Kids campaign that is in response to one out of five kids in the province experiencing poverty.

“We know that child nutrition is really critical, and with school being closed for the summer with no breakfast programs or lunch programs for kids, and with one in five children in Saskatchewan experiencing poverty, we really want to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can as an organization, as a community, to really stand with the children,” Hamp said.

Hamp said this is a new campaign and runs for the entire month of July.

She said the food bank statistics for Saskatoon are similar to what Kincade gave for the entire province.

“Here in Saskatoon, 41 per cent of people who are relying on the food bank are children.”

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Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand said the White Buffalo Youth Lodge runs summer programs and after-school programs, and they are feeding kids now as well.

“Right now we’re feeding them lunch and snacks when they attend the programs,” Arcand said.

He spoke about the importance of keeping these kids fed with nutritious meals, adding that many families right now are struggling.

“We see still a lot of families struggling with nutrition and everything else. Cost of groceries are going up, cost of living, so it’s affecting a lot of families.”

Arcand said these programs are a good way of keeping kids healthy and safe.

He said they are seeing their numbers at the lodge steadily increasing, and they are getting close to pre-pandemic numbers for kids attending their programs.