Teachers' strikes are cutting kids off from food programs. This Montreal group is trying to help

Staff at Jeunesse Loyola have been feeling the pressure ever since the organization extended its after-school program hours to help families affected by the teachers' strikes. 

Normally, staff at the non-profit in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood prepare a snack and dinner for about 30 kids between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. every day. Now, they're feeding and entertaining 50 kids starting at 9 a.m. while schools are closed.

"We don't have a full kitchen here at the centre. We work with a hot plate and a rice cooker and so, assembling meals for that many people, it's quite a production," said Christine Richardson, Jeunesse Loyola's executive director.

She says at least half the kids registered in the temporary strike program relied on their school for food aid. That's also the case for about 37,000 students in the greater Montreal area, according to the Breakfast Club of Canada.

About 160,000 teachers are on strike across the province — some of them indefinitely, while 95,000 teachers are expected to go back to work on Friday. Breakfast Club of Canada says all of its programs in Quebec are currently inactive, affecting 79,000 kids provincewide. 

Jeunesse Loyola has been doing what it can to fill that gap.

"Kids don't have the same filters that parents have and we hear from them, we see it; they're exhausted," she said. "You quickly come to know who needs that support [and] who's doing OK at home."

Richardson didn't expect so many families who are new to Jeunesse Loyola to reach out. She's already had to turn down 15 families so far due to lack of space.

"We have, in addition to that, you know, a waiting list," she said. "I've had parents in tears in my office."

Program not sustainable

The centre has been operating on a week-to-week basis and, according to Richardson, it's not even certain it'll be able to open next week. Running the strike program costs Jeunesse Loyola an additional $1,000 per day, she said.

"The only way to cover these expenses is to cut future programming," she said.

That includes potentially staying closed during the holidays and reducing hours of operation in the new year. 

"Right now we are filling this need," she said. "We are responding to an urgent situation."

The extended hours, though necessary, have also been exhausting for staff. Emma Wilton usually does a lot of administrative work as the organization's communications co-ordinator, but lately she's also had to make appearances as a chef. 

"Sometimes it gets very chaotic and it's like 'Oh my gosh, can I really do this?'" she said. 

Despite feeling overwhelmed at times, she said she always enjoys seeing the appreciation on the kids' faces. 

"So that makes it feel really good and it make it worth it to do it for our little guys."

In the meantime, Breakfast Club of Canada says it's working with community organizations and food banks to redistribute food that would have otherwise gone toward the 500 school food programs it participates in.