Too many kids are going hungry on the Coast say the region's youth workers.
For those working on the Sunshine Coast to better the lives of youth through outreach and community building, the alarming trend of hunger has grown more pronounced in recent years.
"It's not getting better," said Aboriginal youth wellness liaison Janet Mulligan. "Sometimes you look at them and they've lost a lot of weight. It's a visible thing, too, you see them looking visibly thin. If you're not paying attention to it, then you don't know. It's the same with drug and alcohol abuse on the Coast."
Mulligan's work with the area's youth has allowed her to gain insight into the world of teens who, faced with the prospect of having to support themselves, often find their education and nutrition habits taking less priority.
Mental health concerns, addictions, couch surfing, missing school and struggling to find work - these are the challenges faced by many of the Coast's vulnerable youth, and they're only worsened by having to make trips to the food bank, Mulligan said.
"I think when the adults are struggling with mental health issues it falls down on the kids," Mulligan said. "There's no connection to home. If you say 'did you have breakfast today?' it's 'no', 'did you have lunch today?' it's 'no'."
She remembered when volunteers were able to host community dinners at the Rockwood Centre in Sechelt. As many as 50 or 60 residents would come out to eat a communal dinner cooked by volunteers and provided by local sponsors.
Often more than half of those coming out for the weekly dinners were teens, Mulligan said.
"If I had my wish list for services on the Sunshine Coast, I would love to see a community kitchen that was run, like, one day a week," she said.
It's a topic of conversation that's more than familiar to Daanish Ali, team leader with Sunshine Coast Youth Outreach, who said events organized for young people on the Coast that offer food are generally more subscribed than others.
Meeting up with kids to speak about a range of issues usually comes with a request for food, as well, putting strains on the limited budgets that youth workers presently have at their disposal.
"From talking to the people who I work with, it seems to be getting worse," said Ali, who added that at this stage of the problem, a plan needs to be developed. "We want to have a larger discussion."
Youth in Transition (YIT) generally works with teens in the 16- to 18-year range, specifically those who are living on government support.
Steve Oka, the project co-ordinator for YIT has also played a key role in the Aboriginal Youth Project and has worked with the Coast's young population for some 14 years.
Getting enough to eat is one of the greatest challenges these young people face, Oka said. "Over the past three years, I have seen anincrease in demand from teens and other young adults usingthe food bank," he said, pointing to increases in the cost of living as one possible source of the trend.
At the Sunshine Coast Food Bank, the highest usage rates come from single youths under 28 years old. But according to Dale Sankey, its co-ordinator, those younger than 19 often send someone in their place, like a counsellor or outreach worker.
Step one to address the issue, according to Oka: support your local food bank.
