NDP says too many kids relying on food banks this Family Day

The provincial NDP is calling for change in Saskatchewan after Food Banks Canada released its 2018 report.

The report found the province has the highest proportion of children relying on food banks in the country.

“We have to do better,” said NDP leader Ryan Meili. “We need a poverty reduction strategy that works. We are the only province without one.”

According to the report, 43.5 per cent of people served by food banks in Saskatchewan were children compared to the Canadian average of 35 per cent.

The NDP says the Sask. Party has made life less affordable for lower income families.

“One of the things that could make a real difference is to make sure there are sufficient school food programs so that no one is going to school too hungry to learn,” Meili said.

The NDP say the study reports one in four Saskatchewan children live in poverty.