Several non-profit groups say some Alberta children are going hungry and thousands of people have lost access to school feeding programs during a province-wide teachers’ strike.
The strike entered its eighth day on Thursday.
“In one particular family I know, the mother hadn’t been able to eat for a couple of days…her food was going to her children during the strike,” said Jared Jorstad, spokesperson for Hope Mission.
The woman asked the charity for help a couple of days ago.
He said he is concerned about children who have not received help since 51,000 teachers walked off the job on Oct. 6.
Some 750,000 students are out of class and some 2,500 schools have closed, and with them the cafeterias that serve free breakfasts and lunches.
“The cost of living is so high that when you have families on fixed incomes, school feeding programs are pretty vital,” Jorstad said.
Despite a new proposal put forward by the Alberta Teachers’ Association, it and the government appear no closer to reaching an agreement.
Hope Mission, which also operates homeless shelters, partnered during the strike with five Catholic schools in the Edmonton area, where school support staff continue to hand out paper bag lunches to those passing by.
Jorstad said between 200 and 250 students have received those bags of food each day since the strike began.
The strike by members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association is the largest strike in the province’s history.
The main sticking points in the contract dispute have been salaries, overcrowded classrooms and support for students with complex needs.
Teachers overwhelmingly rejected a government offer last month that included a 12 percent pay rise over four years and a promise to hire 3,000 more teachers.
The nonprofit Mustard Seed in Red Deer, central Alberta, prepared between 600 and 800 lunches a day that were delivered to schools, said spokeswoman Laura Giesbrecht.
“With the school strike, we are preparing around 15 lunches a day… leaving more than 700 people without food each day.”
Giesbrecht said she is heartbroken wondering where students will get their food from or if they will get it at all.
“It actually made me cry. How do you feed them? It’s their only food all day.”
She said Mustard Seed has been trying to get the word out to students and families that lunches are still being served. It has also partnered with a local YMCA to deliver meals to children participating in its programs.
Sandwiches, fruits and other foods for students in schools are essential, he said.
“We all know what it feels like to be hungry,” Giesbrecht said.
“[Kids] They need proper nutrition to fuel their lives, be able to play on the playground, learn, and have positive interactions with friends. “Nutrition is a basic component of the success of your education.”
The Breakfast Club of Canada, which provides meal programs for nearly 40,000 students in about 300 Alberta schools, says it hopes teachers and the government will resolve their differences soon.
“Unfortunately, all schools [we] They currently have their breakfast programs on pause,” said program leader Ryan Baker.
“Students used to come with their friends, sit down and eat without the stigma associated with school meals.”
