The Truro Elementary backpack program is back for the second year!
Last year, each Friday a small group of volunteers delivered 38 backpacks packed with meals and snacks to food-insecure children at Truro Elementary School. The backpacks were returned and refilled each week for 20 weeks, and made a huge impact in the lives of the families that received them. Not only did those kids have a full belly over the weekend, but they knew that their community cared about them—this was huge for them.
More than 40% of children in Nova Scotia live in food-insecure households. Kids turn up to school hungry every day, and an already-established breakfast program at the school helps those children get a better start each day. But what happens on the weekend when there’s no food at home?
“As a volunteer at the breakfast program on Monday mornings for two years, I was always devastated to hear from children, and these are tiny kids, sometimes five-year-olds, that they hadn’t had any supper the night before. They’d ask for extra food in a napkin to take with them,” says Lola Brown, who started the program with her husband Ian Marquette and friend Sylvia Estey.
“We knew we had to do something to help those kids. Backpack programs exist in schools all over North America, this is nothing new, and I pushed to start one at the school.”
The 38 kids were identified through Truro Elementary’s Schools Plus program, and the backpack program didn’t know who the kids were (this is one way that the program tried to serve the kids with dignity). “At least that’s what was supposed to happen,” says Lola, “But many of the kids were so excited about the backpacks that they’d come and thank us, and tell us what it meant to them.”
Typically the backpacks include two meals, usually these could feed more than just the child and could be canned soup or stews, or pasta and sauce. There are also snacks, fruit, English muffins or crackers, and cheese/yogurt tubes. “We try to mix things up every week, but pretty much everything we provide just needs to be heated and served,” says Lola, “We know that in some cases the children are feeding themselves, or a parent is unable to cook for them. We also know that some of the kids live in hotel rooms with their parents with limited access to a kitchen.”
“What’s interesting is that the kids always say it’s the fruit they love the most, even on weeks when we’ve added a bottle of chocolate milk or some other treat. These kids don’t get a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables at home,” says Lola.
Initially, the school’s Home and School Committee provided funds to get the program going. A substantial grant from the Rotary Club of Truro gave the program a huge boost, and another from the Halifax Stanfield airport’s Uplifted Program, as well as a fundraising clothing sale helped pay to fill the backpacks, enabled the program to run until the end of the school year. Now they are looking to finance the program for another year, because, as we all know, food costs keep rising, and these kids need our help more than ever.
“We rely on our community. As well as those grants, people and businesses have donated money and food to keep us going, and we’re incredibly grateful,” says Lola. Just yesterday the program received a brand new fridge to use for the school year, thanks to Charles Smith at Don Smith Furnishings Ltd and Jason Chapman of Longworth Properties Limited. “Last week we picked up a $461 donation from a wonderful kid, Claire, who held a lemonade sale to raise funds for us,” says Brown.
This year, the program needs help, and Rotary is committed to helping, which is wonderful, but Lola is hoping that others will step forward to cover the shortfall. “We take cash or grocery store gift cards, and have a shopping list of things we always need, including a Costco list,” she says, offering her email (lola@lolaaugustine.com) to anyone who wants to help. You can also reach out to the Backpack Program via their Facebook page and see more about what they do: facebook.com/TruroElementaryBackpackProgram
“One thing I’ve found is that a lot of people don’t realize how bad things are for some families. I grew up poor but never knew it, and certainly never went hungry. These kids are growing up in homes where the cupboards are bare, and with parents are often doing the best they can with limited resources,” says Lola, “These kids deserve more, and any help that you can give them is so appreciated.”
