School’s out, which means Vancouver Island kids could go hungry

As B.C. students celebrate the end of the school year, there’s concern food will be sparse for many kids throughout the summer.

Sooke Teachers’ Association president Rita Zeni said she worries about how families will fare without access to school meal programs.

“Families are struggling, food banks are feeling it, we see it in schools,” Zeni said in an interview with CTV News.

She said this school year, one of her colleagues asked students a question: If you won $1 million, what would you do with it?

“Almost all of them said, ‘I would buy groceries.’ And those are elementary students,” Zeni said. “That was really sobering to hear.”

It doesn’t come as a shock to the team at Rainbow Kitchen in Esquimalt.

“It’s a harsh reality,” said Fraser Carey, the community kitchen’s school meal program manager.

“The need is strong and we want to remove the barriers and the stigma of being hungry.”

Rainbow Kitchen stocks fridges at six local schools. During the summer months, it is redirecting the food to local summer camps.

Food Banks Canada says one-third of food bank clients are children. That means every month, more than 700,000 Canadian kids visit a food bank.

“Food for kids should be a right, not a privilege,” Carey said.

He said governments must take bold action to prevent children from going hungry.

“They have to start holding businesses accountable for how much they’re charging for food,” he said.

“If that means there has to be a tax break for businesses, so they’re not passing that along to the people, then that’s what they should do.”

Local food banks have been flagging a sharp increase in demand for the past several years. They continue to ask for more food and financial donations.