STF and Food Banks of Saskatchewan have surpassed their fundraising goal.

The two organizations teamed up over the summer with the “Food to Learn” campaign and set a fundraising goal of $44,000. That sum represents the 44,000 people who access food banks every month in Saskatchewan.

The STF kicked off the fundraising with a donation of $20,000 in June. Wednesday organizers shared their final tally which peaked at $71,000.

A joint news release says the partnership was spurred on by recent data which shows that approximately 40 percent of the people who access Saskatchewan food bank services are under the age of 18.
Children who use school nutrition programs don’t have access to the programs while school is out in summer which is further impacted by what is seen historically in summer months that being a slowdown in donations to food banks.

Along with the public campaign, the STF office held an internal food and volunteer drive over the summer, with staff donating over 900 pounds of food and a total of 65 volunteer hours for the Saskatoon Food Bank.

Executive Director of Food Banks of Saskatchewan Michael Kincade says last year, Food Banks of Saskatchewan saw a 37 percent increase in usage and there are no signs of this slowing down so the efforts by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation are much appreciated.