More than a fifth of B.C. children live in poverty and many schools bear the brunt of this when children arrive unfed in the morning or without proper clothing and footwear for the weather.

Families existing on social assistance or minimum wage jobs in Greater Vancouver find it difficult to pay rent and still have sufficient money to cover other expenses and food. One parent with four children told The Vancouver Sun of trying to survive on $1800 a month in disability payments after paying over $1600 a month rent.

A number of schools use emergency funds from Adopt-a-School to help families with weekend food when there is none at home.

A survey in one Vancouver secondary school found that 25 per cent of students had no food at home at least once a month.

This year $80,000 in emergency funds was granted to schools, while almost $15,000 was provided to help students who need transit, and almost $200,000 went to various other poverty mitigation programs.