Tackling Student Hunger in Rural NB
we’ve got your back
Lakeland Resource Centre program provides food security for hungry youth in the McAdam – Harvey area.
Since 2014, Lakeland Resource Centre has been providing a program to assist with combating the dilemma of student hunger in their rural New Brunswick community.
We’ve Got Your Back is a program that originated from St. Stephen, New Brunswick. In 2014, Lakeland Resource Centre took inspiration from the success of the program and adopted their own version of the project to provide food security to youth from low-income families in the McAdam and Harvey area. This program supports 33 students on average each year, both at the local elementary and high schools.
Food for the program is purchased through the local grocery store in McAdam.
“Rural Communities are the hardest hit communities for hunger of any age. Families are always relaying to us that without the assistance of the Food Bank and programs, such as We've Got Your Back, they would not be able to pay the bills and feed their children,” states Crissy Thurber, Executive Assistant/Director of Lakeland Resource Centre. “Accessibility to nutritious, low-cost foods is much harder to find, as small communities have small grocery businesses and struggle to keep prices low. The cost of traveling to Urban cities is so high, especially now, some families must travel up to 100 km one way to get to a chain grocery store. This affects our communities’ children greatly at home, especially on weekends.”
Students in need are recognized by the teachers, who will contact Lakeland Resource Centre to alert them of the potential requirement for support. The Lakeland team will then contact the guardians of these youth, to notify them about the program that is in place to provide support and to offer assistance.
Once a student is confirmed in the program, they will receive a bag at the end of each week that contains an adequate supply of ready to eat, nutritious food to supplement food shortages on the weekends. These bags contain a variety of food ranging from fresh produce to non-perishable meals, quick snacks, and more. Allergies and food preferences can be notified to the Lakeland team to ensure no food goes to waste.
David Blair, Volunteer Lead of this food-security program, assists in the packing of bags and handles the delivery to the school coordinators each week.
Jillian Nason volunteers weekly to help David sort and pack bags.
“The funding we received from the Fredericton Community Foundation has lifted the burden of relying solely on fundraising with volunteers. The funds have also encouraged us and validated our concerns for the hungry,” said David Blair, Volunteer Lead of the We’ve Got Your Back program. “If our program makes a difference in even one life or one family, I would consider all our work a success.”
The We’ve Got Your Back program at Lakeland Resource Centre was a recipient of a $5,000 Rosemary’s Pantry Grant in 2021 from the Fredericton Community Foundation.
Rosemary’s Pantry Grants were established in 2014, curtesy of a generous donation from the late Rosemary McCain-McMillin. These grants are used to provide support to charitable organizations in the greater Fredericton region, whose projects focus on food security in youth. Over the year, the Fredericton Community Foundation has provided 48 Rosemary’s Pantry Grants to charitable organizations across the region.
This past year alone, Lakeland Resource Centre, in partnership with McAdam and Harvey schools, has provided 1,650 bags of food through their food security program. "My mom says I can share [the food] with her if I want, but she also lets me eat it all myself if I want to. My brother and sister both have their own bag, so I don't have to share with them," says a Grade 6 student from Harvey Elementary.
One of the students from McAdam Elementary School receiving her bag from the program.
"Without the help of the Fredericton Community Foundation’s Rosemary's Pantry grant, our We've Got Your Back Programs in Harvey and McAdam would have struggled to support our students and families greatly,” Crissy mentions. “The loss of fundraising in the past two years has had such a negative impact on all our programs, so having the support from the Fredericton Community Foundation helped us to continue to provide weekend nutritious foods for all our children and not have to worry about how we were going to do this. The Fredericton Community Foundation has been very instrumental in coming to our rescue more than once, and we are so grateful for the compassion and generosity of the team that chooses to support Lakeland Resource Centre.”
To submit your food-security project for a Rosemary’s Pantry Grant click here. Applications for the 2022 Rosemary’s Pantry Grants will close on May 9th at 4PM ADT.
For more information on Rosemary’s Pantry Grants or to contact the Fredericton Community Foundation, call 506.454.2262 or email info@fredfdn.ca
For more information on Lakeland Resource Centre and their We’ve Got Your Back program, call 506.784.2251 or email mcadamfoodbank@nb.aibn.com