NANAIMO – On Monday mornings the answer to whether some of the five-to-10 year olds attending Brechin Elementary have had to endure the weekend hungry is obvious.

As unlike other days, the bins of food sent out to every class each morning always come back empty, says school secretary Tara Hill.

Those Rubbermaid storage bins contain packages of boiled eggs, cheese sticks, pepperoni, crackers and carrots.

But notably on Mondays everything in the bins gets eaten.

Does that tell her some children are not getting sufficient food over the weekend? 

“Yes, it does,” said Hill.

Out of 180 children attending the school around 60 need to be fed each morning and given a sandwich at lunch because they are arriving at school hungry and without food.

Hill is asking for $10,000 from the Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School (AAS) campaign so staff can care for these children who are relying on the school to feed and, often, clothe them.

She estimates the number of families living below the poverty line and whose children attend the school on Millstone Ave. to be around 30 per cent.

AAS23-747