Due to the rising cost of living and inflation, many food-aid programs in B.C. are expecting to see an uptick in the number of students coming into the classrooms hungry and without food.

The school year began on Sept. 6, after a summer of inflation rates reaching .

In their July report, Stats Canada said that while gasoline prices dropped in July, the cost of groceries rose once again.

Emily-anne King, the co-founder of B.C.-based food-aid charity Backpack Buddies, told Black Press Media Wednesday (Sept. 7) that the organization has been seeing sa国际传媒渟kyrocketing demand.sa国际传媒�

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Every Friday morning, Backback Buddies is one of a handful of organizations that delivers bags of food to schools in communities across the province. The bags are then given to children in need before they leave for the weekend.

King said in one week alone, they have added 500 children and six new B.C. communities to their program.

In June, King spoke with the Canadian Press and said they expected to help about 2,100 kids weekly this summer. They now help over 4,500.

sa国际传媒淲e are mindful that children receiving support never feel singled out and that no one is made to feel like theresa国际传媒檚 something wrong or abnormal about their familysa国际传媒檚 circumstances,sa国际传媒� the organization states on its website.

The need for food is not just specific to one region of the province, but is sa国际传媒渨idespread, deep-rooted and province-wide,sa国际传媒� King said.

According to a 2016 report by the BC Center for Disease Control, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Toronto, one-in-nine households in B.C. is considered food insecure.

King encouraged teachers to visit if they see a child that could benefit from receiving a bag of food.

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