By Diana Bateson
The Kalum Community School Society is launching its “Buck for a Truck” campaign to replace the old pickup truck that has been used for the various food programs operating in Terrace.
The old truck, which was donated to the society in 2002, has served the community well, picking up and delivering food for programs such as the Good Food Box, Food Share, and Hungry Kids Project.
In the spring, it is also used to deliver equipment to the school and community gardens. This has led to it being referred to as the “community truck”.
However, the truck is now often needing repairs, costing the society money it can’t then use elsewhere and disrupting the operations of the food programs.
It has been decided that it is time to retire the old truck and find a more reliable vehicle.
An information table, with posters, brochures, and donation jars will be set up in Save On Foods on Saturday, April 6 to encourage people in the community to contribute a loonie toward buying a newer vehicle.
Donation jars, brochures, and posters will also be placed in various participating businesses around town.
Although most people in Terrace have heard of the food programs, many are not aware of the Kalum Community School Society, which is responsible for developing these programs.
KCSS is a non-profit organization that has provided community programs for vulnerable children, youth, and families in Terrace, Thornhill, and six surrounding First Nations villages since 1997.
KCSS’s mission is to work with community partners within neighbourhood schools to enable success and belonging for all people.
The primary goal of the Hungry Kids Project is to improve food security for children in Terrace and surrounding areas. Terrace and the outlying communities have experienced higher than provincial average unemployment levels, 10.3 per cent in October 2012.
These high unemployment levels have contributed to the rise in the number of people, including youth and children, using food banks.
In March 2012, a count done of people using food banks that month illustrates the need – 721 adults and 558 children.
There is a link between nutrition and academic performance. It is hard to concentrate on schoolwork when you’re hungry.
KCSS addresses this problem serving more than 2,000 servings of food in schools weekly in Terrace and Thornhill. In its efforts to respond to the emergency food needs, it receives significant donations from local distributors, stores and farmers.