Inflation is making it harder for many Maritime families to put food on the table and fill up the gas tank. Now, there's another expense to worry about -- back to school supplies.
Donations of supplies continue to pile up in the basement of Moncton Headstart for families in need, but how they’ll be distributed this year has changed.
The organization that helps high-risk children and their families has been distributing backpacks with learning materials directly to families for years.
But this year, they are working with the Anglophone East School District, which will give them to schools who will then distribute them to those in need.
Moncton Headstart executive director Caroline Donelle said things needed to be run differently this year because they simply didn’t have the capacity to distribute the supplies to families.
“We’re happy to support the community as best we can, but this is one of our community outreach programs that we just have to let go of,” said Donelle.
Headstart helped 668 families last year and there's a good chance the number will be even higher for 2023.
“We've certainly been seeing a lot of food insecurity, some housing insecurity. There's no question the economy is pressing a lot of people. It’s stretching a lot of budgets and I expect there will be a huge demand for school supplies this year again,” said Donelle.
With the help of community partners and a team of volunteers -- many retired teachers -- Heather Stordy will be in charge of making sure all the items that have been collected get to students who need them the most.
The community engagement manager for the Anglophone East School District said that’s a big job because the demand is definitely there.
“It's really difficult for families right now. We’re certainly in a good position to identify that need in schools,” said Stordy. “We're finding that the need is growing. It's becoming more and more difficult to purchase those items, especially the more expensive items, like dictionaries, USB and headphones, and things like that. They tend to be more on the costly side.”
BGC Moncton supports around 1,000 children and will be distributing donated school supplies directly to the families.
Executive director Moncef Lakouas said there's a huge need for families desperate to cut costs any way they can.
“The cost of rent is extremely high. The cost of food is extremely high. Gas, transportation and so on. And if you add school supplies on top of that for an average family that has two, three, four or five kids sometimes that attend school, it is a financial burden on a lot of Moncton families,” said Lakouas.
School supplies for BGC Moncton are being gathered at Planet Fitness and other organizations in the city.
"This is a tradition that has been around for about 66 years,” said Lakouas. “Every single year we make sure that kids and families that need our help the most get the attention they need. The school supplies will be gathered and it will definitely be addressed for those who need it the most. The more school supplies we get, the more families we'll be able to help.”
If families are in need of assistance with school supplies, parents should reach out to the school or schools their children will be attending in September.
