'More kids are going hungry': Vancouver Island charities see surge in demand
CTV
A charity feeding kids in B.C. is seeing an unprecedented surge in demand, generating a wait list for the first time to serve 17 communities.
A charity feeding kids in B.C. is seeing an unprecedented surge in demand, generating a wait list for the first time to serve 17 communities.
“It means that more kids are going hungry,” says Backpack Buddies executive director Emily-Anne King. “Over half of our waitlist that we’re seeing is located here on Vancouver Island.”
Backpack Buddies says the cost of living is one part of the wave of requests, along with fewer services on the island.
“The northern part of Vancouver Island seems to see the most demand,” says King.
Port Hardy is one of the communities welcoming support. The mayor says the poverty level on the North Island is “very, very severe.”
Pat Corbett-Labatt says one of the challenges is a lack of agricultural land.
“We are working with the ministry of agriculture and food production to do an assessment of our land up here and see what we can do to make things different,” she says.
