The school needs $4,000 in order to provide some students with a stable source of food and warm clothing
GALIANO ISLAND — To describe this island as beautiful borders on the trite. It’s a magnificent 28 kilometres of rocky shores, rainforest, safe harbours and peace and quiet that attracts thousands of tourists and boaters each year.
A paradise it might be for outsiders, but some residents suffer the economic woes besetting families in other parts of the province who are facing a cost-of-living crisis, especially if they are living on social assistance or on minimum wage jobs.
And like everywhere else, the crisis is apparent in the number of children coming to school hungry.
Kadek Okuda, vice-principal of Galiano Community School, said there has been a notable increase in the number of children arriving at school needing to be fed.
“There’s definitely higher levels of food insecurity in our community. The thing about Galiano is we are so remote. People can be doing okay and still be having a hard time,” said Okuda.
“More children are coming to our school without a proper lunch due to rising food costs, exacerbated by our rural location and lack of access to discount grocery options,” she wrote in her application to The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School program.
The school is seeking a $4,000 grant from Adopt-A-School in order to provide some students with a stable source of food and warm clothing.
“Since COVID, a lot of families have really struggled to make ends meet. Galiano is very tourist based, with people doing five different jobs to make it work,” she said.
The island has a permanent population of about 1,400, and families who might need extra help with food or clothing for their children are reluctant to seek it, she said.
“That’s a tricky part when you are in a small community. There’s a lot of stigma associated with that which we are trying to remove.”
The Feeding Futures provincial food program provides lunch for students whose families sign up for it but not all families who need it are willing to do this, she said.
These lunches are given out when students arrive in the morning.
“Sometimes the kids who are really hungry will eat them right away so we need to have other food available for them during the day,” she said.
However, there is no government money available for breakfast or the snacks some children need so Adopt-A-School money will be used to ensure no student will go hungry during the day whether they are signed up for a government lunch or not.
“Our local grocery store will give us fresh fruit and vegetables at just about cost. A few of our kids are on the bus for a long time or never quite get to breakfast,” she said.
“We find kids have a better ability to focus if they sit down and have something to eat when they come in.”
She will use half of the grant to buy clothes and footwear to build up a closet for those who need help, but again offering it has to be done discreetly.
“Last year we got money from Adopt-A-School and the (Parents Advisory Council) and I went out and bought new boots and rain jackets so if a kid needed a coat and it’s raining outside they could just take one and use it.
“Some give it back but if they walk out the door with it I don’t care.”
Okuda won’t buy the cheapest shoes or coats as she wants those who need them to have similar quality items to what most students are wearing.
In some cases she will call a family and offer to provide clothes or footwear.
“I’ll get some different sizes of shoes and I know some kids are going to show up with holes in their shoes and it’s pouring rain and we’ll say ‘here take these shoes.’
“Yes, they cost $100, but the children are not going to stick out.”
This year hundreds of similar schools needing help for impoverished students are seeking $2.9 million from Adopt-A-School.
No donated money is used for administration costs because 100 per cent goes to schools.
By Gerry Bellett (gbellett@gmail.com)
