File Photo Courtesy Pitching In: Brown Bag Lunch Program

By Lisa Parent

Root Cellar expecting higher demand in brown bag lunches amid economic challenges

Sep 5, 2023 | 4:33 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – With the rising cost of living, many Hatters have to decide between keeping their lights on or buying groceries. The Brown Bag Lunch program run by the Root Cellar Food & Wellness Hub is lifting some of that burden off of families with children in school. It supplies three school districts with free lunches every day.

“The demand has increased greatly since the pandemic and we know that some students come to school to eat, so we provide them with breakfast, we provide them with snacks and then lunch as well,” says principal of Ross Glen Elementary School, Natosha Mastel.

While the Root Cellar ships food to the school once a day for lunch, there are some breakfast items included. The school also makes some of their own breakfast snacks for students. In Ross Glen, they’ve been utilizing the program for years. Mastel says it’s important to supply kids with nutritious meals that can power them through a school day.

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“The cost of living has increased dramatically and we know that sometimes food isn’t bought then,” says Mastel. “It is cheaper to buy the not so nutritious food, so we do see an increase in that amount. So we want to make sure the healthy food is here for the students.”

Those meals are supplied by the Root Cellar, and volunteers that gather every single morning to pack a bag with sandwiches and snacks. Before COVID-19, Melissa Mullis, the executive director of the Root Cellar says they were packing about 700 to 900 lunches a day. At the end of last school year they were packing about 1,500 a day.
Mullis says that judging by the high demand they’ve seen in their food pantry this year, they’re expecting the demand for brown bag lunches to increase even more.

“What we’ve seen in the emergency food pantry here is a massive increase of people coming in the last couple months due to utility bills and things like that. I don’t see the numbers going down, I see the numbers growing exponentially. It’s something that we’re watching for sure,” says Mullis.

Wild 94.5 is hosting a fundraiser for the program next Thursday. Mullis hopes this event will help the root cellar prepare for the increased food demand, and encourage people to volunteer for the program.

“To collectively come together as a community to feed these kids, it just feels good. It fills your bucket. You end up leaving feeling really good about yourself and about being able to support the kids in the community,” says Mullis about volunteering for the Root Cellar.

The schools also give back to the root cellar by participating in food drives, all because they know how important brown bag lunches are to the well-being of their students.

“We never want children to feel that they’re being judged or anything, so having this open access all kids can use it and all kids will use it,” says principal Mastel.

Mastel emphasizes that the brown bag lunch program is for all kids, even those who forget to bring a lunch to school or just need a mid-day snack.

The Brown Bag Lunch Day fundraiser is Sept. 14 at the South Country Co-op parking lot.