As soon as he heard announcements about school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Max Zhu got worried.

For the past three years, Zhu has been involved with Time to Talk–Uncovering Youth Experiences, a Scarborough-based youth organization that works to build skills, mentorship and inspiration for young people in the area. He has seen first-hand how many families are poverty-stricken and knew the pandemic would impact them much harder.

“Food insecurity is exacerbated during times of economic hardship,” he said.

School closures mean children and youth who relied on school food programs no longer have access to healthy breakfasts and snacks.

“Layoffs and reduced working hours for parents across industries mean that children and youth will not have access to nutritious food they need to be safe and healthy during this time,” he said.

Zhu, 26, and other members of the group decided they wouldn’t just sit back during the crisis but would help ease the burden of some families, many of whom are new immigrants and rely on precarious jobs for their upkeep. Last week they launched the Hearty Food Initiative, an effort to address food insecurity at the grassroots and community levels, and support the youngest members of the community and their families during the outbreak.

Just two days after announcing their intentions on Facebook, the group had raised $1,200 through small individual donations. The funds were used to place dozens of orders through FoodShare for fresh food boxes and snacks to be donated to families in the Oakridge and Taylor-Massey neighbourhoods of Scarborough.

Zhu said the areas were chosen based on city data that shows high levels of unemployment there. The majority of residents are recent immigrants and many of those who work have household incomes way below the city’s average.

The group has also heard directly from many of these families how the outbreak is affecting their ability to get what they need for their survival: those who are in self-isolation and can’t get out; those taking care of older parents; those with sick family members, those whose workplaces have closed due to the pandemic.

“These are urgent tales for help and we prioritized them over others,” said Zhu.

“Affordable food for residents has always been challenging in the area. There are no large grocery stores in Oakridge or Taylor-Massey and the closest one, Metro, is priced much higher than the deep-discount supermarkets in which many residents shop.”

According to the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, more than 200,000 kids get nutritious breakfasts and snacks everyday through its Students Nutrition Programs across the city. The foundation announced this week it’s working to provide each of these students with a $50 food card, to help buy breakfast for a period of 30 days.

Despite their focus on Scarborough neighbourhoods, Zhu and Time to Talk–Uncovering Youth Experiences have received applications from as far as Ottawa and Hamilton — demonstrating how dire the situation is getting for people across the country.

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The group hopes to continue raising funds and delivering fresh produce to families during the pandemic, but it also wants to highlight the need to tackle food insecurity in a much more serious way going forward.

“While COVID-19 has heightened food insecurity in our community, it has been a prevalent challenge that requires more attention and collective intervention,” said Zhu.

“With our lived experiences and deep connections with our communities, we can mobilize support and develop targeted initiatives to tackle community-specific social challenges.”

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