Demand for Sault student lunch program spikes
St. Vincent Place in Sault Ste. Marie is again offering its 'Lunches for Learning' program, with the aim of helping parents provide children with lunches when they return to school.
The program began last year, and St. Vincent Place's fundraising coordinator said interest has increased considerably.
"Last year, we generally helped about 35 families per week with the program," said Sara McCleary. "This year, we've actually already had more than 100 families reach out, wanting to register. It's been absolutely outrageous the number of families who are in need of help this year."
Last year, parents signed up to receive a package of typical school lunch items, including fresh produce, bread, cheese and juice boxes, and it was picked up on a weekly basis. However, McCleary said that may change this year.
"It's definitely going to be tight," she said. "We are going to have to reduce the size of the packages to meet the demand. And then also what we're going to do instead of providing weekly packages, we'll divide up all the families into two groups and everyone will get a package every other week. That way we can help the greatest number of people."
Nat Cicchelli, executive director of St. Vincent Place, said the number of people accessing services is steadily increasing.
"We've been really busy with our food bank and soup kitchen -- those numbers have increased in the last few months and continue to go up," Cicchelli said, adding that they have been able to reopen the thrift store.
McCleary suggested the reason for the spike in demand for Lunches For Learning is job losses or reduction in hours among part-time workers, likely brought on by the pandemic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A man was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.