Every weekday, George Hanzal drives 50 students to Don Ross Secondary School. Besides the youth, the school bus driver also makes another key drop-off - lunches.
Hanzal is an important participant in a community initiative led by the 撸奶社区Helping Hands Society. He picks up healthy lunches from the non-profit society and brings them to the school. Instigated by Don Ross counsellor Stan Thomson, for the past year the Helping Hands Society has prepared sandwiches to give to students who come to school empty handed.
What started with less than a dozen bag lunches has grown to 50 meals. And it continues to snowball, Thomson said.
"We are at eight schools now," he said. "I just heard Brackendale Elementary wants in."
The service is anonymous, Thomson said. By word of month, the students are aware that they can pick up lunches from the schools' offices. No questions are asked and they have a selection of food choices.
In the midst of provincial funding cuts, the program has been one of the few positive things in some students' school lives, Thomson said. The service has its regular customers, he added. For some pupils, it may be that their parents don't have time to organize a lunch; for others it's a matter of money, Thomson noted. Either way, Helping Hands' Brown Bag Lunch program ensures that students can focus in the classroom, rather than worrying about their stomachs.
Elementary schools usually have breakfast programs, but they are not carried through to high school, said Rick McKinney, Helping Hands' manager. While the lunch bag program itself is expanding, Helping Hands is hunting for funding to keep up with the demand, he said. The society would also like to add dairy products to the lunches. But those products cost more money, McKinney noted.
"We are definitely looking to have some people sponsor a child," he said.
For $40 a month, anyone can help the society provide a child with school lunches. People are often surprised when they learn of the need in 撸奶社区for such a service, McKinney said, adding that he believes it is only going to grow.
"This helps kids focus on learning rather than their next meal," McKinney said.
To sponsor a child or for more information call (604) 815-4984 or visit www.squamishhelpinghands.com.
