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CBC
6 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
With school out, more kids are food insecure. These Montreal groups step in to fill gaps
Social Sharing There's always a buzz of excitement in the air as the end of the school year approaches, with students dreaming of carefree summer days. But for a lot of students and families, summer also means an end to free school meals and increased food insecurity. According to Moisson Montréal, of the 300 food agencies it works with, children make up 30 per cent of those in need of food assistance in the city. Without the assistance of school food programs, families are under increasing pressure, with multiple organizations stepping in to fill the gaps. Every year, Moisson Montréal launches its Hungry for Vacation fundraising campaign to help provide snacks for school-aged kids throughout the summer months. Executive director Chantal Vézina said this year's goal is to raise enough money to distribute 700,000 snacks to more than 10,000 children in Montreal. Last year, Moisson Montréal was able to distribute 570,000 snacks via its partner organizations. "This year, we increased the goal because we know that the needs are increasing also," Vézina said. More families in need of food assistance Multicaf is a not-for-profit organization that offers food aid and other social services to residents of Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, including a community cafeteria and solidarity grocery store. The cafeteria offers free breakfasts and affordable lunches, while the grocery store allows members to shop at a discount. "People can get 25 items at a lower price point, so $7 for 25 items," explained Multicaf spokesperson Gabriella Marquez-Fry, adding that allowing people to pay what they can promotes dignity. "It's not a handout," she said. Multicaf has also seen an increase in demand for its services over the years, as well as a change in clientele. "We see more and more families that need our services," Marquez-Fry said. According to Moisson Montreal's latest Hunger Count report, families make up 54 per cent of households needing food assistance, up from 47 per cent the year before. To meet families' specific needs, Multicaf has created a family room, which was inaugurated this week. WATCH | How Multicaf is adapting to a new reality: Montreal food bank inaugurates family room, extends operating hours as demand rises 5 minutes ago Duration 1:42 MultiCaf in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood is dedicating an area for children to play and eat while their parents access services. Marquez-Fry explained it's a safe space for families to access the social and food support they need. It's designed to allow parents to meet with an intervention worker and learn about what resources are available to help them move forward, while their children play nearby. "It removes the stigma," Marquez-Fry said. Multicaf is also gradually extending its opening hours, and the hope is to be open seven days a week by September to help give parents and other members more flexibility in their schedules. "We really want to adapt to the changing realities of food insecurity," Marquez-Fry said. "It"s not just a specific demographic now — it touches students, it touches workers, it touches families." 'Gaps are getting deeper and deeper' The Depot is another community organization in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough offering a variety of food aid services. In summer, that includes providing healthy snacks to kids attending seven day camps in the community. The Depot executive director Tasha Lackman said it's an extension of after-school programs it offers during the year aimed not only at nourishing children but increasing food literacy skills. "It's building opportunities for kids to learn about food, eat healthy food and try new things," she said. Lackman said the programs are offered in part because not all schools in the neighbourhood have food assistance services to begin with. But ultimately, she said food insecurity is an issue that is linked to income. "What we need are comprehensive changes to our system to create better social safety nets with … stronger income supports like welfare, like minimum wage, like unemployment insurance," she said. She said until that's achieved, "organizations like ours are going to try and fill the gaps, but the gaps are getting deeper and deeper." Poverty reduction plan addresses food security: minister Chantal Rouleau, Quebec's minister responsible for social solidarity and community action, acknowledged the summer can put more pressure on families due to the absence of school programs, but she said several measures have been put in place to help, and food banks are accessible year-round. The province's poverty reduction plan has a section devoted to food security alone — a first in Quebec , according to the minister. A lot of the actions centre on urban agriculture, she said, with some gardens supplying solidarity gardens with fresh fruit and vegetables, while some organizations offer coupons that can be used in public markets. The goal, she said, is to bring people closer to their food sources and to work with partners to give them the tools and means to use that food and know how to cook it. Rouleau agreed with Lackman that addressing food insecurity means addressing other social issues and that the poverty reduction plan includes measures to improve access to housing, health care and a more robust social assistance program.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Resources for Summer Food Insecurity
Waco, TX (FOX 44) – Many children in Central Texas don't know where their next meal is coming from without the help of school meals, but there are resources available near you. The Shepherd's Heart Pantry is serving families who are food insecure with its 19 locations across Central Texas. Executive Director Robert Gager says summer months are the hardest for food insecure children. 'There's a lot of people that we see coming to our food distributions or mobile food distributions that may be from middle income families that have three or four kids, and they've got two car payments, a house payment and all the other bills that go with four kids. And they're hurting. They're hurting, so I know that the need is out there for the summer' The Shepherd's Heart Pantry is partnering with the Central Texas Food Bank to serve even more children this summer than last year. With the food banks help, the pantry estimates serving up to 3,000 children per week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Free summer meals for kids in Northwest Arkansas, River Valley 2025
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS/RIVER VALLEY (KNWA/KFTA) — Looking for free summer meals for kids? See where they're available in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley. Location information based on the USDA Summer Meals Site Finder 2025 unless otherwise stated. This list is subject to updates as more locations are announced. To submit a free meal location, email news@ with the subject line 'FREE MEAL LOCATION.' Meals served Monday through Friday starting June 2 and ending on July 31. No meal service on July 4. The International School at Mary Mae Jones (only through July 25) Address: 500 SE 14 St. Bentonville, AR Breakfast: 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. Lunch: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Bentonville High School South Address: 1901 SE J St. Bentonville, AR Breakfast: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Lunch: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Bentonville High School South Tiger Athletic Complex (TAC) Address: 1702 SE J St., Bentonville, AR Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Lunch: 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Bentonville Public Library Address: 405 S Main St. Bentonville, AR Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Starting June 3 and ending on Aug. 9, 2024 (Closed June 19 and July 1 – 5), according to a Facebook post from Fayetteville Public Schools. John L Colbert Middle School 888 South Rupple Rd 10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. FPS Food Truck 2025 locations: American Legion Post 27 1195 Curtis Avenue 11 to 11:30 a.m. Yvonne Richardson Community Center 240 E Rock Street 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. NEW! St. James Missionary Baptist Church Corner North/Leverett, 764 W North Street 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch served Monday through Friday, beginning May 17 and ending on July 25. Greenland High School Address: 30 N. Sandy Ave. Greenland, AR Breakfast: 7:30 – 9 a.m. Lunch: 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. Meals served Monday through Friday beginning on June 9 and ending on July 31. Heritage High School Address: 1114 S 5th St Rogers, AR Breakfast: 7 – 8 a.m. Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Reagan Elem @ Olivewood Pavilion Address: 1006 N 31st St Rogers, AR Lunch: 11 – 11:30 a.m. Reagan Elem @ Lupine Way Address: S 37th St & W Lupine Way Park Rogers, AR Lunch: 12:30 – 1 p.m. Lingle @ Westbrook Address: 2300 W Persimmon Rogers, AR 72756 Lunch: 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. Grimes Elem @ Elmwood Address: 1610 S 13th St Rogers, AR Breakfast: 7 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. Eastside Elem Address: 505 E New Hope Rd Rogers, AR Lunch: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Northside Elem @ RAC Address: 315 W Olive St Rogers, AR Lunch: 11 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Lingle @ Bus Stop Address: Olive St & N 10th St Rogers, AR Lunch: 10:15 – 10:45 a.m. Northside @ Doubletree Pavilion Address: 601 W Easy St Rogers, AR Lunch: 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. Mathias Elem @ Southwind Pavilion Address: 2200 N 12th Rogers, AR Lunch: 11 – 11:30 a.m. Lowell Elem @ Ward Knail Park Address: 801 W McClure Lowell, AR Lunch: 12:30 – 1 p.m. Rogers Goodwill outlet reopens after 2024 tornado damages Meals served Monday through Thursday starting June 2 and ending July 31. Cedarville High School Address: 9500 Pirates Point Cedarville, AR Breakfast: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Lunch: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Meals will be served Monday through Friday from June 2 to July 31, according to the Fort Smith Public Schools website. All sites will be closed on July 3 and 4. Breakfast will be served from 8 to 9:00 a.m., and lunch will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Ballman Elementary School – 2601 S. Q St. Barling Elementary School – 1400 D St., Barling Beard Elementary School – 1600 Cavanaugh Road Carnall Elementary School – 2524 Tulsa St. (Ends July 23) Fairview Elementary School – 2400 S. Dallas St. Howard Elementary School – 1301 N. 8th St. Morrison Elementary School – 3415 Newlon Road Park Elementary School – 4111 Park Ave. Spradling Elementary School – 4949 Spradling Ave. Sunnymede Elementary School – 4201 N. O St. Sutton Elementary School – 5001 Kelley Highway Tilles Elementary School – 815 N. 16th St. Meal served Monday through Friday starting on June 2 through June 27 unless otherwise stated. Blakemore Field Address: 2202 Alma Blvd. Van Buren, AR Breakfast: 9:30 – 9:50 a.m. Lunch: 12:30 p.m. – 12:50 p.m. King Elementary Address: 401 North 19th Circle Van Buren, AR Breakfast: 8:30 – 8:50 a.m. Lunch: 12 p.m. – 12:20 p.m. First Baptist VBS Address: 1121 Main Street Van Buren, AR Breakfast: 8:30 – 9 a.m. Freshman Academy (ONLY FROM June 3 to June 6!) Address: 821 Pointer Trail Van Buren, AR Breakfast: 7:45 – 8:10 a.m. Lunch: 11 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. MEALS TO GO @ Oliver Springs Address: 335 Northridge Rd E Van Buren, AR Breakfast: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Lunch: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. MEALS TO GO @ Tate Elementary Address: 406 Catcher Rd Van Buren, AR Lunch: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Higher demand expected as P.E.I. children's summer food program returns for 5th year
Social Sharing The province's Children's Summer Food Program is now open for registration, marking the fifth summer it has operated. Barb Ramsay, P.E.I.'s minister of social development and seniors, said the program served about 2,300 children and delivered around 143,000 meals last year. And those numbers may increase again this summer, she said. "Food insecurity is very concerning, but this is one of the programs that we have to combat that," she told CBC's Island Morning. "It's down 10 per cent. It went from 41 to 31," she said, referring to the most recent Statistics Canada data that shows the percentage of Island children living in food-insecure households dropped from 41 per cent in 2022 to 31 per cent in 2023. That's 10 percentage points or about 25 per cent. Ramsay said the province also supports P.E.I.'s school food program, which operates on a pay-what-you-can model during the academic year, and the seniors' food program. A poverty elimination strategy is currently in development and is scheduled to be released this fall. As for this summer's program, Ramsay said the total cost is not yet known because that depends on how many families sign up. The department budgets roughly $8 per meal. "We're prepared for whatever the cost is," she said. Families can register for the Children's Summer Food Program online through the P.E.I. government's website. Behind the meals Duke Cormier, owner of Fiveelevenwest in Summerside, is one of the local food suppliers for the program. Ramsay's department sends his staff the participant numbers — typically 450 to 500 children — and information about any special dietary needs. They prepare the meals, package and freeze them, and have them ready for delivery every Wednesday morning. The recipes used come from the province's school food program; Cormier's company is also a part of that. Cormier said the menu offers a diverse variety of dishes, ranging from sweet and sour chicken with rice, shepherd's pie, and burgers with mashed potatoes and vegetables, to creamy chicken pasta, lasagna, and butter chicken. "We try to do everything as healthy as we can. At the same time, there's a balance between healthy and what they'll eat," he said. "The P.E.I.'s school food program has done a very good job with their recipes to close that gap. "Originally maybe they were — and maybe it's a bad thing to say — too healthy. But now, they've got to the point where they're injecting vegetables, nutrition into every part of the meal they can." Having been with the program since it started, Cormier said he's proud of the work and care everyone put into this, from his business and the province to the delivery drivers. "We are in contact with our drivers all day long, for instance, and they've gone to a household, and perhaps the person's not home, and the meal's coming back. And then we're taking another bag back to them. There's an effort to try to really ensure that these people are getting reached." Ramsay added that this summer, the province plans to hire 25 to 30 drivers, and they've already received about 60 applications. "There's a tremendous amount of work that goes into this program, and I'm going to keep it going as long as I possibly can," the minister said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Basin schools prepare for summer meals
May 30—COLUMBIA BASIN — Schools around the Columbia Basin will have food service programs available at no charge for children 18 years of age and younger over the course of the summer. Ephrata "We are going to be offering both congregate meals and non-congregate meals," said Alain Black, Ephrata School District's food services director. "One of our schools will have congregate meals where children have to eat on-site." The on-site meals will be available at Grant Elementary with breakfast served from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will also be a grab-and-go meal option which will be distributed in a drive-thru line at Ephrata Middle School from noon to 1 p.m. Both sites will be open Monday-Thursday from June 16 to July 24. The program will be closed for distribution June 19 in observance of Juneteenth, but grab-and-go boxes for that day will be available for pickup June 18. For further questions, contact Ephrata School District and Alain Black at 509-754-2474. Moses Lake This summer Moses Lake School District is partnering with the City of Moses Lake Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department to provide free lunches at select parks across the city. The program runs from June 16 through July 18 with no service June 19 or July 4. "All meals are free for children and teens ages 18 and under — no sign-up or registration is required. Just stop by, grab lunch, and enjoy summer in the park," said Ryan Shannon, MLSD Director of Public Relations. A sack lunch will be served 12-12:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Meals will be served at Knolls Vista Park Mondays, Carpenter Park Tuesdays, Maple Grove Park Wednesdays and Peninsula Park Thursdays. For further information contact the Moses Lake School District at 509-766-2650 or Ryan Shannon at (509-793-7734. Othello Othello School District will provide their summer meals alongside the summer school program June 30 to July 25. Summer school at Scootney Springs Elementary for grades K-8 will be from 8:10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Grades 9-12 will be at Desert Oasis High School with a morning session from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m. and a night session from noon to 2:45 p.m. "We will serve meals to the public where we will serve breakfast and lunch," said Mandy McDonald, assistant director of dining services at Othello School District. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to the public for children aged 1-18. Food will be served at Scootney Springs Elementary School on the summer school program's schedule. For further questions on Othello School District's summer meal services contact Mandy McDonald at 509-488-2650 ext. 2031. Quincy Quincy School District's Summer Food Service Program will be available starting June 23 at Sit and Eat locations and offer a twice a week meal pick-up location. Sit-and-eat locations will be at Ancient Lakes Elementary operating Monday-Thursday with breakfast served 7:15-8 a.m. and lunch 11:15 a.m-noon through July 17. The other sit-and-eat location will be the Quincy City Parks and Recreation Building Monday-Friday through Aug. 8 with the exception of July 4. Breakfast will be 7:30-8 a.m. and lunch 11:30 a.m. -12:15 p.m. The twice-a-week pickup locations will be at George Elementary with drive-thru and cafeteria pickup and Quincy Middle School, with drive-thru pickup only. These will begin operation June 24 and run through Aug. 8 with breakfast and lunch served 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Additional meals will be distributed July 1 and July 3 to make up for no service July 4. For any questions, contact Quincy School District Food Service Director Steven DeStio at 509-787-4335 ext. 3680. Wahluke Wahluke will distribute its summer meals June 23-July 27 at Saddle Mountain Elementary School. These will be served Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. "Any child under the age of 18, if they're hungry, they can come in any of those days," said James Montgomery, Wahluke's food service representative. "They don't even need to be a student; just come in and we'll feed you." Wahluke School District is extending its offer to students from Royal and other nearby school districts that are not offering a summer meal program this year. For further information call James Montgomery at 503-752-0280 or the Wahluke School District office at 509-932-4565. Warden Warden School District will be serving their summer meals at the Warden School District's cafeteria from June 24 through July 31 with breakfast served from 7:50 to 8:20 a.m. and lunch from 10:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. "Anyone 18 and under can come get a free meal. They don't have to be enrolled in summer school, they can come eat," said Paulie Wixom, Warden School District food service supervisor. "Not everybody gets a hot lunch, we have free meals and they're more than welcome to come up. Paulie Wixom can be reached at 509-349-2366 ext. 1450 for any further questions on the summer meal programs at Warden School District.
