Bridges to Hope doubles the number of students helped this year with their 'Bag to School' program

Executive director of Bridges to Hope Lesley Burgess says everyone is 'feeling the pinch' during back-to-school season this year, and says the food bank has handed out hundreds of backpacks to help struggling families with the transition. (Mike Simms/CBC)

The demand for help getting school supplies is growing, says the head of a St. John's food bank.

Bridges to Hope provides emergency food aid to the community, but also has been supporting families annually with its Bag to School program.

This year, they've already provided 700 backpacks to students — double the number of bags handed out last year.

Executive director Lesley Burgess says the goal of the program is to "make sure that the families we serve are able to send their children back to school with all the supplies that they need for the school year."

Every year around July, Bridges to Hope begins gathering names for their registration list. Interested parents can sign up online or over the phone, and can provide information for each student; including their name, what school they attend, and what grade they are going to.

"That way we can make sure that each bag is specific to the child," said Burgess. "We just try to keep things as personalized as possible."

Any parent can ask for help, says Burgess.

"We try to keep the program as low-barrier as possible so folks can just self-refer if they are feeling like they need some assistance."

'Feeling the pinch'

As the cost of living rises, back-to-school shopping is becoming more of a financial burden.

Burgess said the end of summer is expensive for parents who not only have to buy supplies, but also clothes, shoes, school lunches and other essentials.

"Everyone you talk to can tell you they're feeling the pinch," said Burgess, "and families are no different."

The Bag to School program is a success thanks to corporate partners and volunteers, says Burgess, as Dicks and Company supplied most of the backpacks and supplies this year.

"We handle registration and distribution of the backpacks and [Dicks and Company] handle everything else," said Burgess.

"We do still have a wait list, so any supplies that come in over the weekend or early next week, we're just going to keep going until there's none left."

Burgess said anyone who is still in need of school supplies can call Bridges to Hope on Sept. 4 and 5.

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