7, 980 students or 37.5%... the child poverty rate in Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa, according to a study by Campaign 2000 (2017).
In fact, Manitoba has the second highest poverty rate, behind only the Territory of Nunavut, in Canada, one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Statistically, the numbers illustrate the child poverty rate in Manitoba to be 27.5%, 10% higher than the national average of 17.4%.
The Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa riding is in the top 10 of the country for child poverty. How can Manitobans justify 1 in 3.7 children living in poverty in this province?
“Until we address that need [poverty] and address how we are going to remove those barriers that are put in place for children and families due to poverty, we’re going to continue to have low test scores, we’re going to continue to have struggling students.” CBC News, Teachers, Parents Give Their Take on What Manitoba’s School System Needs, April 2019.
MVSD’s schools and staff work untold hours setting up fundraising plans to provide for free breakfast and lunch programs for students, on top of the staff volunteer hours to organize and serve the meals. This does not include the local community members who volunteer their time.
Lesia Jensen, Principal for Whitmore School, states their program is a “whole community effort” and without the community’s support their targets would never be met. The Whitmore staff set a target of $14,000 for this year in order to run a breakfast program successfully. This would allow the school to have nutritional options such as vegetables, fruit, dairy, and other nutritional choices to feed approximately 128 students. Many of these students depend on this daily breakfast.
Nonetheless, Whitmore School is not an anomaly, it is an example of what all MVSD’s schools try to do to support students and their needs. However, not just children in poverty access the breakfast program in schools. There are students who get on the bus at 7:30 a.m. who eat breakfast when they get to school. It could be because they did not have time beforehand, or it is too early and the students were not hungry yet, or they ate so early they are hungry again upon arrival at the school. The reasons children have breakfast at schools are varied, but valid.
Many schools do not only receive monetary support. The communities across the division support all the schools in helping the staff run the programs. As Ms. Jensen states, the local community’s support for the school is overwhelming. Besides local businesses supporting the schools through food donations, a variety of volunteers, along with students, help at the schools to prepare and serve the food.
With tight budget allocations from the province, MVSD’s Board of Trustees have been unable to update the kitchen facilities in schools as quickly as desired. Again, community organizations have stepped up to provide funding towards appliances to help bring the kitchens up to code, from the Kinsmen Club for a commercial dishwasher at Whitmore School so they do not need to rely on disposable dishes and utensils, to the Roblin Community Foundation appliance grant to Goose Lake High School to replace cooking appliances. These updates allow the schools to prepare food in the school and allow students to become involved in a nutritional plan.
However, most of these donations are “one-time”donations. In order for the programs to be successful and to alleviate the stress staff feel in trying to make sure the funding will meet the needs, a sustainable program needs to be developed.
“Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program and was recently ranked 37th out of 41 countries on providing healthy food for kids.” (Coalition for Healthy School Food, n.d.) Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Brazil, India, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy all have universal school meal programs. The Manitoba Teacher Association has submitted a proposal to the Manitoba K-12 Education Review for a universal meal program for all school-aged children at no cost.
Poverty is a vicious cycle, with children born in poverty often remaining in poverty for their whole lives, as hungry children are 3 times more likely to be absent from school. In addition, poverty has a long-lasting impact on a child’s learning ability.
“Children living in poverty show almost 3.5 times the number of conduct disorders, almost twice the chronic illnesses and twice the rate of school problems, hyperactivity and emotional disorders as children who don't experience poverty…. Education – in close co-operation with health care, guidance and counselling services, and income generating activities – is pivotal in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion that is the reality for many families.” (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 2019, homelesshub.ca)
Our need is immediate and today’s children cannot rely on or wait for the government to help. In comparing poverty rates from 1989, when all Canadian political parties stood and pledged to eradicate poverty within Canada, to this century’s rate, Manitoba is the only province where the poverty rate has risen. Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories were higher than Manitoba in 1989. Nevertheless by 2015, their rates have dropped, whereas Manitoba’s rates have risen. It is an issue that can no longer be ignored.
Ms. Jensen acknowledges, “Through the efforts of MVSD’s staff, a greater awareness of poverty and the needs within our communities has grown and it has made a tremendous difference to student wellbeing.” Nonetheless, is there a way we can sustainably support all our schools’ programs, in partnership with our community organizations? Our area has a history of supporting people in need all over the world, such as the “Field of Dreams” programs. The time has come to find a sustainable way to support our students in our own backyards so all students are able to reach their full potential.
MVSD’s Board of Trustees are willing to engage with anyone on this subject. Please send any comments or suggestions to [email protected].
More information on poverty and the rates can be found at Campaign2000.ca/Report Cards/Provincial/Manitoba/Waiting For The Plan, Child and Family Report Card 2017 or Campaign2000.ca/Newsroom/Media Releases/New Report: Child Poverty by Federal Riding/List of the Best and Worst Ridings.