Meal service programs for kids expecting higher demand over coming months in Calgary

Agencies that provide meals to Calgary's school-aged childrensay they're bracing for more demand while dealing with higher food costs this year.

Several organizations, including Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids, saythe rising costof food is staggering.

"The one that is standing out for me is the cost of celery," said Bethany Ross of Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids.

She says celery has gone up 114 per cent year-over-year.

She notes that if the charity is struggling,so are some Calgary families.

Ross says her organization is preparing for a minimum of 5,500lunches per day.

"It's a little bit hard to say how much," she said. "Obviously there are alots of factors that go into that, and parents are doing their very best to care for their kids. So we are trying to be ready for anything."

A common trend

The Breakfast Club of Canada serves more than 28,000 children in Alberta andmany more across the country.

Amid decade-high inflation, that organization is launching an ambitious back-to-school fundraising campaign to continue supporting school nutrition programs in Alberta and ensure that children go to school with a healthy breakfast.

According to revenue projections, in order to maintain its support for school nutrition programs, the organization anticipates a financial shortfall of $2 millionfor the 2022-23 school year due toinflation, food and transportation costs.

Breakfast Club spokesperson Judith Barry says that despite the anticipated shortage, the need remains strong.

"Due to food insecurity, due to unhealthy food habits, due to stressful routine in the morning, long bus ride, and so on," said Barry.

At this time, no additional breakfast programs can be supported by the club in the upcoming school year, even though there are a couple of hundred schools on a waiting list and the numbers keep growing, she added.

Barry said the Breakfast Club of Canada has been urging the federal government to implement a national school food program.