Our Children will Not go Hungry this Summer; After the Bell Program

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“One day when I was volunteering, I saw two little boys fighting over a toothbrush: it is interesting what we take for granted.” Chris Hatch, CEO of Food Banks Canada

Volunteers were already actively engaged when I arrived at the Mississauga International Centre on Wednesday, May 15^th, 2019. I was greeted with a beautiful smile by Zeba Dantas, and although she looked like she had a lot on her mind, her energy levels were high, and for good reason. Food Banks Canada was at the beginning of their fourth annual After The Bell packing day, a day that provides an opportunity for corporations and organizations to become actively involved in the community, as well as learn more about food insecurity and child hunger in Canada. The room was slowly filling up, and Zeba told me that they were expecting 1,000 plus corporate volunteers that day. It was wonderful to see people taking the time to give back, and I was curious as to what was driving this.

I was ushered upstairs in what looked like a secret room, and upon entering I was introduced to Chris Hatch, CEO of Food Banks Canada. Before we get into Mr. Hatch’s experience, I thought it would be beneficial to provide some perspective on the necessity of this initiative.

There has been an increase of visitors to food banks across the GTA. From April 2016–March 2017, there were a total of 990,970 client visits to the Daily Bread Food Bank and North York Harvest Food Bank (www.foodbankscanada.ca). This was documented as the highest annual clients visit number in Toronto since 2010. Of all the regions in Toronto, Scarborough (with a 30% increase in visits) has seen the biggest increase in the number of people accessing food banks, compared to a 4% or less in other regions of the city (www.foodbankscanada.ca).

What was a little sad to hear was that our vulnerable populations (children and seniors) are being documented as having the highest client visits. It was found that 35% of the visits to the food banks are children, even though they only make up 20% of the population (www.foodbankscanada.ca). It was also noted that seniors accessing food banks have increased over the last couple of years by nearly 27% compared with other age groups, which have increased up to 18%. There are people in our community who have to choose between eating, paying their rent, or picking up medication that they need.

Food Banks Canada started the After The Bell Program five years ago when they noticed a disturbing trend; during the summertime, children had to skip meals and go without food. Food banks had a tougher time getting food donations in the summertime, so without breakfast and lunch school programs, there were children in Toronto hungry, and parents who were feeling helpless.

“June, July, August are the toughest times to find food.” Chris Hatch

On December 15^th, 2017, the Board of Directors of Food Banks Canada announced that effective January 8^th, 2018, Chris Hatch would become their new CEO. He comes from a corporate background, and when he retired, he decided to focus his attention on giving back to the community. Mr. Hatch volunteered for nine years and served as the organizations Executive Director. His goal is clear; he wants to make changes at a provincial level so that people no longer have to depend on food banks. Food Banks Canada is responsible for providing food for all the food banks nationally, and this program is another way that they are able to do this. At the inception of the program, they were only able to ship 700 care packages, and it was only done for food banks in Saskatchewan; 4 ½ years later, they are shipping 100,000 boxes to 10 provinces across Canada. Each healthy food pack includes: a mix of Kellogg’s individual cereal servings, Kashi/Special K bars, Cloverleaf hummus with crackers, Organic Meadows organic shelf stable milk, Quaker oatmeal, Wow Butter, raisins and fresh fruits and vegetables or dairy. Not only do food banks across Canada get food, but they also get funding that will allow them to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for the clients that visit.

When asked what can be done to help out in the community, Mr. Hatch replied, “Connect to food banks in your community if you need the help, and then reciprocate by volunteering.”

It is good to know that there is help out there when you need it; all you have to do is look for it. Visit one of your local food banks across the GTA or visit Food Banks Canada online to find the closest food bank to you.