Note: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect numbers.
The pandemic has only created more need for a not-for-profit organization that provides healthy lunches to school aged children .
Food4Kids Guelph, a weekend food program that would send packed lunches to children for the weekend for years saw an over 80 per cent increase in families accessing their meal program during the pandemic despite children not being in school throughout the year.
“It's an indicator of how many more people are struggling,” said Terrie Jarvis, communications coordinator at Food4Kids Guelph.
The organization switched to mailing $15 weekly grocery gift cards per child to families during COVID since they could not deliver to schools in person like they did traditionally.
Prior to the pandemic, Jarvis said the program supported approximately 200 children and is now up to 365 children.
Jarvis said it is costing the program $25,000 a month to support the families and fundraising has been a key in the program’s success.
“The community has been fantastic, especially in the earliest stages of COVID. Now what we see is that all charities are seeing a bit of COVID fatigue and donation fatigue and so, it's not as great right now and we haven't been able to run our normal fundraisers but we have done some different ones," said Jarvis.
Early August, the Rotary Duck Race 2021 helped raise $26,300 for the Rotary-inspired charity.
“The community has been wonderfully supportive,” said Jarvis.
She said while the organization is very anxious to provide food bags again to children in schools when restrictions ease, they are thrilled to see the success of the grocery gift cards.
“We are continuing with our grocery gift cards until at least the end of September. On our way to the schools we're hoping that once they settle into their new routines and protocols that they will then let us know that we can restart,” said Jarvis.
She said the grocery gift cards have given the families freedom to purchase whatever they need.
“Perhaps on a particular day with their grocery gift cards, their need to buy diapers might be greater than they need to buy fruits and vegetables,” said Jarvis.
“It's quite amazing to see how the program has grown and how we have somehow even worked remotely ourselves being able to keep up with this. We had to make so many changes but, and we're all volunteers that we did it, and we are still doing it, and so we expect that certainly, by Christmas, we'll be up to about 400 children.”
