The school year ending increases food insecurity for many children in Toronto who rely on school meal programs. To combat this, the CampTO Nutrition Program was launched to provide snacks to 56,000 children at 89 summer camp locations. The program aims to aid families unable to access school food programs during summer months. Child poverty is rising sharply, with nearly one in four families food insecure. The increasing cost of living exacerbates this issue, often forcing families to choose between food and other essential needs. Food insecurity significantly impacts children's learning, behavior, health, and social experiences.
"We know that kids or some families who may be accessing food through a student nutrition program in their school, can't access those programs during the summer," Toronto's manager of the poverty reduction office, Bryony Halpin, told CBC. "So programs like CampTO Nutrition is trying to improve access to nutritious snacks for kids who are attending city summer camps and are not getting access to food programs in their school community at that time."
Halpin said child and family poverty has "sharply increased" in the city. She said that about one in four Toronto families is food insecure, and up to 60 per cent of families might be experiencing poverty in some areas of the city.
"Food insecurity has been rising in Toronto in recent years at pretty alarming rates, and this is due to the increasing cost of living," she said. "Food-insecure households often choose between paying for food or paying for other needs like rent. Having a job is often not enough."
Halpin said there are many impacts on kids dealing with food insecurity, including their capacity to learn in the classroom, their behaviour, long-term health outcomes, and social stigma. CampTO Nutrition Program is targeted to reach families in high-need communities...with a high percentage of low-income households.
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