I went to a fundraiser this past Saturday. It was the same fundraiser we have attended for the last 15 years. It is put on by All Saints Parish, and each year they choose a new charity or organization to donate the funds. This year was no different, except for one minor detail…it was the Roman Catholic School Division who benefited for their hot lunch program.

Now, usually I wouldn’t make a big deal or write about this event but this year I have to express my feelings. As a lot of you know, I volunteered at Children of St. Martha School while my kids were enrolled. During that time I held many positions on Council and the one Position I held the longest was that of Hot Lunch Coordinator and volunteer.

When I started doing hot lunch, it was held once a month. We sold milk (which we got for a great price) and different food items such as McDonald’s cheeseburgers, Arby’s, Subway, Panago Pizza, and hot dogs. We priced it out to be as affordable as possible (we got the milk for $.50 a carton and sold it for $1.00; cheeseburgers were $1 and we sold them for $1.50; subs were $1.50 and were sold for $2.00, hotdogs were sold for $1 each) we didn’t make much of a profit, even then, lunches were under $5.00 and all the money went towards food on Sports day. Over the years, as food prices went up so did hot lunch prices, unable to keep prices down and so tired of the heated and rather loud “discussions” with teachers and school council members at meetings, I stepped down. I felt there was nothing more I could do and I was tired of fighting.

Children of St. Martha Elementary was not and is not a wealthy school. While I was there, we had small class sizes, loving and caring teachers, a diverse community, and the school itself just exuded a homey feel. That being said, there was a sad side as well. The school has a lot of single parent families, kids in foster homes or living with guardians, drug and alcohol addictions (at home), and because of the diversity and the issues I mentioned above, kids coming to school hungry. There were many times I saw kids come to the kitchen mid morning and get something to eat. It was heartbreaking to see a child cry because their stomach hurt and then hear them say they hadn’t eaten since the night before.

The last three or four years I was there, things changed a bit. We started a hot breakfast program (thanks to a grant and, I believe, the school board) . Kids were able to come to school and get, not only cereal and juice, but scrambled eggs and toast, hash browns, pancakes, French toast, and even grilled cheese (yes, I said grilled cheese) for breakfast. I took on the position of School Council chair and started a new lunch program. Thanks to three of the best moms I could ever work with, we had a lunch every week. We served chicken ranch/ceasar wraps, taco in a bag, pizza and hotdogs…all were sold with a yogurt tube and a juice box and we were able to keep it around five or six dollars. We got together one day and discussed how teachers were buying lunches for some of their students, we had a small box with spare change (petty cash) which we used for these occasions. One mom suggested we start an anonymous donation box in the office for this reason and “Hot Lunch Angels” was born. Parents and teachers could donate at any time and teachers no longer had to feel bad if a certain student didn’t have lunch…a form was filled out that only we saw and that was it.

I know this was a long lead in as to why I wrote this blog, but I needed everyone to know what schools are facing. Our school worked hard to finally have food programs that would benefit everyone, but that wouldn’t be an issue if ALL government bodies (Federal, Provincial, and Municipal) would budget appropriately for these programs. In my mind, it isn’t fair for a school board to have to use a church fundraiser to raise money to feed students. That being said, something needs to be done by us as well. Society, as a whole, needs to stop criticizing those who live in poverty. Why? Because we never know whether or not we will ever be in that position. Before we berate someone for not being able to feed their child, we need to put ourselves in their shoes. We need to ask ourselves these questions…What would I do if that was me? Would I be ashamed to tell the school I can’t afford bread and meat for lunch? Would I be too proud or ashamed to ask for help?

In conclusion, although the fundraiser was fun and I won two baskets in the silent auction, if governments want schools like St. Martha’s to supply nutritious lunches then they have to take the first step and not leave it up to school boards or individual schools to hold fundraisers for such programs. Society needs to stop criticizing parents who can’t afford food for lunches. Parents and caregivers need to step up and admit when they are having trouble so the school can help.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.