With school out for summer, kids are without 'safe haven' for meals, says food bank organizer

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 2

With summer abrogation disconnected and running, immoderate children across Newfoundland and Labrador are nary longer successful the 1 spot where they tin beryllium guaranteed a meal, says 1 nutrient slope organizaer successful cardinal Newfoundland who is urging radical to donate.

Tracy Dawe, a manager with the Lewisporte Interfaith Goodwill Centre and Food Bank, said the summer can beryllium challenging for nutrient security with students retired of school. She said schools are a "safe haven" wherever kids can avail of repast programs.

"It becomes a interest for america that the children are sometimes doing without," she told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.

Compounding that, Dawe said nutrient donations are typically down successful the summer because work groups, who would rise donations, besides instrumentality a break. Schools and religion groups also big nutrient drives successful the wintertime but not successful the summer.

"Our donations are a small down successful regards to nutrient and monetary donations. However, our [Goodwill Centre] income are doing precise well," Dawe said.

However, she said there's been an summation successful the fig of radical utilizing the nutrient bank, which she credits to the summation successful the outgo of living.

Nearly 40 per cent of children nether 18 successful Newfoundland and Labrador lived successful food-insecure households successful 2024, according to a study successful May from Proof, a probe radical based astatine the University of Toronto.

Rev. Paula Gale, who is besides connected the centre's committee of directors, said the request for donations exists passim the year, but radical don't needfully deliberation astir however the alteration successful the schoolhouse twelvemonth means a alteration successful people's circumstances.

For example, Gale said, a azygous parent mightiness beryllium capable to enactment a fewer hours during the schoolhouse twelvemonth due to the fact that her kids are successful the classroom.

"All of a abrupt successful July and August, those kids are not successful schoolhouse and nether supervision and they're present astatine home," said Gale.

As a result, she said, the parent mightiness beryllium restricted successful the hours she tin enactment due to the fact that she doesn't person entree to kid care.

"So we don't deliberation astir however the extremity of the schoolhouse twelvemonth for galore families truly puts radical sometimes astatine a disadvantage successful each kinds of ways," said Gale.

For galore radical successful their assemblage the schoolhouse strategy is simply a immense enactment and not conscionable a spot to learn, said Gale.

Dawe said if radical can't donate nutrient oregon money, they tin connection their clip by volunteering astatine the Goodwill Centre. She said they person astir 120 volunteers, but they besides prosecute students successful the summer.

"If anybody is consenting to springiness escaped of their time, we could gladly usage them and they could travel on and spot maine and we tin acceptable things up. So volunteering is precise important and is an indispensable portion of our service," said Gale.

Gale besides encouraged radical to store and donate to the Goodwill store.

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