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Brown Bag Lunch Day to help feed Medicine Hat area students takes place Tuesday

Sep 10, 2024 | 11:20 AM

Those who donate today can help feed students in Medicine Hat for the entire school year.

As the price of just about everything continues to climb, more students than ever before headed back to school in Alberta hungry this year.

For too many parents, packing a lunch for their kid is a luxury they can no longer afford.

Today is Brown Bag Lunch Day in the South Country Co-op parking lot at the 13th Avenue location.

Wild 94.5 will be on location from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in support of the Root Cellar’s Brown Bag Lunch Program.

Every $200 raised will provide a brown bag lunch for one student for the entire school year.

At each school the program supports, teachers will identify kids that need support, and kids can also self-identify.

Melissa Mullis, executive director at the Root Cellar Food and Wellness Hub, said last year the program helped feed about 1,500 children per day across schools in the three local school divisions.

“We’re seeing a lot more kids than we’ve seen in the past,” Mullis said.

“Obviously we’re not immune to inflation and higher costs for food, so this program is 100% community funded,” she added.

“We need the community’s help in order to make sure those kids are fed.”

Donations can be made by cash, cheque, credit or debit.

Mullis adds they are also always looking for volunteers for the Brown Bag Lunch Program to help pack the lunches in the morning, as it takes about 20 people to complete the task each day.