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CBC
19-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Country's highest rate of child hunger felt in Newfoundland and Labrador classrooms
More than half of all single-parent families in N.L. were food insecure last year Summer is approaching and teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador are worried many of their students will spend their holiday months hungry without school lunch programs to offer a meal, says head of the province's teachers' association. The province was tied with New Brunswick for the highest rate of children living in food-insecure households among the provinces in 2024, and Trent Langdon says his members are witnessing this first hand. "If you have a young person who is coming to school when they're hungry, it reduces morale, it reduces overall energy, it reduces the likelihood of them getting out of bed," Langdon said. "It weighs very heavily." Langdon said he's hearing of more teachers who are bringing extra sandwiches to slip to the students that need them. Nearly 40 per cent of children under 18 in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick lived in food-insecure households in 2024, according to a report this month from Proof, a research group based at the University of Toronto. The figures come from Statistics Canada data and they include all Canadian provinces, but not the territories. More than a quarter of Canadians lived in food-insecure households in 2024, which is a record high, the report said. Newfoundland and Labrador had the third-highest rate of overall food insecurity among the provinces, behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. More than half of all single-parent families in the province — 56.8 per cent — were food insecure last year, according to the Statistics Canada data used by Proof. The group defines food insecurity as "the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints." "It is a serious public health problem, a marker of pervasive material deprivation, and a matter of public policy," the Proof website says. The group's report prompted anti-poverty non-profit Food First Newfoundland and Labrador to call on the provincial government to re-examine its poverty-reduction strategies. "These statistics are not surprising, but they are also not inevitable," said Josh Smee, the group's chief executive, in a news release earlier this week. "People in this province are under tremendous pressure right now to afford the food they need, and there are many ways that pressure could be relieved." Danielle Seward agrees that something needs to be done. The executive director of the Single Parent Association of Newfoundland and Labrador says many of the people using her organization's food bank are seeking help for the first time. Many are skilled professionals with good jobs whose rents and electricity bills have gone up, leaving them far less money to pay for groceries. "I think a lot of folks would be shocked to see the vast diversity amongst our clients, and to see how many of them are in very successful working positions," Seward said. "The cost of everything has increased exponentially, whereas the incomes for these professional occupations haven't." Increasing income support rates would help some of her clients, but not all of them, she added. The provincial government needs to take food insecurity seriously and assemble a team to find solutions, Seward said. And they could start, she suggested, by looking at ways to reduce the cost of groceries, perhaps by offering money to offset the high cost of shipping to the island of Newfoundland, and to the more remote communities of Labrador. Seward is also worried about the summer months, when parents don't have a breakfast or lunch program to rely on. It's one of the busiest times of year at the association's food bank. "For single-parent families, the summer is the most critical time of the year for food insecurity," she said.
Hamilton Spectator
17-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Country's highest rate of child hunger felt in Newfoundland and Labrador classrooms
ST. JOHN'S - Summer is approaching and teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador are worried many of their students will spend their holiday months hungry without school lunch programs to offer a meal, says Trent Langdon. The province was tied with New Brunswick for the highest rate of children living in food-insecure households among the provinces in 2024, and Langdon, the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, says his members are witnessing this first hand. 'If you have a young person who is coming to school when they're hungry, it reduces morale, it reduces overall energy, it reduces the likelihood of them getting out of bed,' Langdon said in an interview Friday. 'It weighs very heavily.' Langdon said he's hearing of more teachers who are bringing extra sandwiches to slip to the students that need them. Nearly 40 per cent of children under 18 in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick lived in food-insecure households in 2024, according to a report this month from Proof, a research group based at the University of Toronto. The figures come from Statistics Canada data and they include all Canadian provinces, but not the territories. More than a quarter of Canadians lived in food-insecure households in 2024, which is a record high, the report said. Newfoundland and Labrador had the third-highest rate of overall food insecurity among the provinces, behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. More than half of all single-parent families in the province – 56.8 per cent – were food insecure last year, according to the Statistics Canada data used by Proof. The group defines food insecurity as 'the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints.' 'It is a serious public health problem, a marker of pervasive material deprivation, and a matter of public policy,' the Proof website says. The group's report prompted anti-poverty non-profit Food First Newfoundland and Labrador to call on the provincial government to re-examine its poverty-reduction strategies. 'These statistics are not surprising, but they are also not inevitable,' said Josh Smee, the group's chief executive, in a news release earlier this week. 'People in this province are under tremendous pressure right now to afford the food they need, and there are many ways that pressure could be relieved.' Danielle Seward agrees that something needs to be done. The executive director of the Single Parent Association of Newfoundland and Labrador said many of the people using her organization's food bank are seeking help for the first time. Many are skilled professionals with good jobs whose rents and electricity bills have gone up, leaving them far less money to pay for groceries. 'I think a lot of folks would be shocked to see the vast diversity amongst our clients, and to see how many of them are in very successful working positions,' Seward said in an interview. 'The cost of everything has increased exponentially, whereas the incomes for these professional occupations haven't.' Increasing income support rates would help some of her clients, but not all of them, she added. The provincial government needs to take food insecurity seriously and assemble a team to find solutions, Seward said. And they could start, she suggested, by looking at ways to reduce the cost of groceries, perhaps by offering money to offset the high cost of shipping to the island of Newfoundland, and to the more remote communities of Labrador. Seward is also worried about the summer months, when parents don't have a breakfast or lunch program to rely on. It's one of the busiest times of year at the association's food bank. 'For single-parent families, the summer is the most critical time of the year for food insecurity,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
17-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Country's highest rate of child hunger felt in Newfoundland and Labrador classrooms
ST. JOHN'S – Summer is approaching and teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador are worried many of their students will spend their holiday months hungry without school lunch programs to offer a meal, says Trent Langdon. The province was tied with New Brunswick for the highest rate of children living in food-insecure households among the provinces in 2024, and Langdon, the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, says his members are witnessing this first hand. 'If you have a young person who is coming to school when they're hungry, it reduces morale, it reduces overall energy, it reduces the likelihood of them getting out of bed,' Langdon said in an interview Friday. 'It weighs very heavily.' Langdon said he's hearing of more teachers who are bringing extra sandwiches to slip to the students that need them. Nearly 40 per cent of children under 18 in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick lived in food-insecure households in 2024, according to a report this month from Proof, a research group based at the University of Toronto. The figures come from Statistics Canada data and they include all Canadian provinces, but not the territories. More than a quarter of Canadians lived in food-insecure households in 2024, which is a record high, the report said. Newfoundland and Labrador had the third-highest rate of overall food insecurity among the provinces, behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. More than half of all single-parent families in the province – 56.8 per cent – were food insecure last year, according to the Statistics Canada data used by Proof. The group defines food insecurity as 'the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints.' 'It is a serious public health problem, a marker of pervasive material deprivation, and a matter of public policy,' the Proof website says. The group's report prompted anti-poverty non-profit Food First Newfoundland and Labrador to call on the provincial government to re-examine its poverty-reduction strategies. 'These statistics are not surprising, but they are also not inevitable,' said Josh Smee, the group's chief executive, in a news release earlier this week. 'People in this province are under tremendous pressure right now to afford the food they need, and there are many ways that pressure could be relieved.' Danielle Seward agrees that something needs to be done. The executive director of the Single Parent Association of Newfoundland and Labrador said many of the people using her organization's food bank are seeking help for the first time. Many are skilled professionals with good jobs whose rents and electricity bills have gone up, leaving them far less money to pay for groceries. 'I think a lot of folks would be shocked to see the vast diversity amongst our clients, and to see how many of them are in very successful working positions,' Seward said in an interview. 'The cost of everything has increased exponentially, whereas the incomes for these professional occupations haven't.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Increasing income support rates would help some of her clients, but not all of them, she added. The provincial government needs to take food insecurity seriously and assemble a team to find solutions, Seward said. And they could start, she suggested, by looking at ways to reduce the cost of groceries, perhaps by offering money to offset the high cost of shipping to the island of Newfoundland, and to the more remote communities of Labrador. Seward is also worried about the summer months, when parents don't have a breakfast or lunch program to rely on. It's one of the busiest times of year at the association's food bank. 'For single-parent families, the summer is the most critical time of the year for food insecurity,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2025.
CBC
07-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Teachers' union, education minister worry far-right targeting N.L. schools
Both the province's education minister and the teachers' union are worried about far-right ideologues targeting schools, and attacking teachers both in person and online, after a series of incidents across the province. Most recently, within the last week a group of adults — including the parents of students — entered both Holy Trinity High School in Torbay, and Carbonear Collegiate to angrily confront staff. In videos posted on social media by some of the parents and students in Carbonear, members of the group — who had gathered inside the building — can be seen shouting accusations at two school administrators, including claims staff had been looking at students who were using the washroom. They said the protest was because of their concerns teachers are going "into the bathrooms and peeking up and over the stalls and between the cracks of the stall." In separate social media posts, other parents and students said staff were monitoring the bathrooms for people smoking or vaping. Police intervened at the Carbonear Collegiate incident, removing the parents from the school. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association says teachers are doing their job, and part of that includes supervising students. And the union's president says similar incidents have happened across the province, leaving school staff feeling harassed. "Schools have become battlegrounds, it seems, not just physically but also virtually," NLTA president Trent Langdon told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. "It's time for this to come to an end. Enough is enough." One of the protesters in the Carbonear Collegiate incident was Shane Sweeney, one of two people charged with criminal harassment and causing a disturbance after leading a "surprise convoy" protest outside Premier Andrew Furey's home on July 9, 2023. The crown in the case decided to drop the charges in exchange for a peace bond requiring Sweeney to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. WATCH | Some say staff have been monitoring bathrooms in an effort to stop vaping: Carbonear teachers feel targeted after group storms school in protest 3 hours ago Duration 0:41 A group of angry protesters stormed Carbonear Collegiate Wednesday, accusing staff of peering into washroom stalls. The group representing teachers says supervision is part of the job, and has started a campaign warning the public about sharing misinformation. "We are being invaded by a far-right agenda, many times attacking diversity and acceptance and respect in our schools," said Langdon. It's a sentiment echoed by the province's education minister, who said she's aware of the incidents that have happened over the last few weeks. "If we continue this assault on our institutions then what's to keep us from spiraling into anarchy," said Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell. Proper channels On March 5, NLSchools sent a letter to parents, calling those recent incidents "concerning." "For the safety of students and school staff, schools are not public spaces," said the letter. It said no one is allowed on school property without permission and schools will enforce the legislation where necessary. The incidents have made students and teachers feel uncomfortable, and Langdon said the union is fighting back with a campaign to support teachers. "It's time for us to reclaim our schools here and for people to say that schools are meant to be an open place for diversity, respect and for learning," he said. "Because right now attention is being given to small groups of people who are attempting to gain control of the public commentary, and that's not good enough." Teachers are upset and are receiving personal attacks, he said, adding cases are happening in small towns so the teachers can't escape the harassment, even when going to get groceries. Part of the NLTA ad campaign includes Langdon saying "many teachers are being slandered, threatened, and attacked with harmful misinformation on social media." Langdon implored the "adults in the room" to "model decent behaviour for young people." He said he's working with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as with the schools, the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador and government. "Everyone has a role to play here. But the public needs to be well aware of what they're sharing and what they're liking," said Langdon. Both Howell and Langdon said if parents have concerns about something happening in the schools, there are proper channels they can work through to have it addressed. Howell said the appropriate way to raise concerns doesn't include showing up on the school grounds or "bashing them on social media." It's unfortunate there are people who feel taking those actions is a way to get a response, she said, adding that schools aren't public places so people can enter them "on a whim." "Ultimately, the message that I want to send out is that our schools are not public places. These are places where you have to have specific access in order to get in. And that's a part of legislation," Howell said. She said that's enforceable under the Access to Health and Education Services Act, which she said they will enforce while still respecting people's right to protest in appropriate ways. Howell also thanked the RCMP for responding to the protest at Carbonear Collegiate, though she said it wasn't an avenue she liked to see used.
