BARRHEAD - Thanks to the generosity of the Town of Barrhead and the local Elks club, the Thrive program will continue to survive until at least the end of June.
After that, it is in the federal government’s hands.
The Thrive program is a family violence and relationship abuse prevention initiative, operated by Barrhead and District Family Support Services (FCSS) as part of its community programming.
In late January, following a presentation by FCSS executive director Karen Gariepy and Thrive outreach worker Cheri Jantz, the Barrhead Elks Club agreed to donate the equivalent of three months of operating funding, or $9,750. In December, town councillors approved an FCSS request to provide two months of bridge funding for January and February worth about $6,500.
Gariepy said she expects to learn by the end of March or the beginning of April if they will receive the federal funding to sustain the program into the summer and beyond. However, it is not the only FCSS community program in jeopardy — the FCSS Hot Lunch Program is also on the bubble.
Programs operating on community funding like “Santa's Toy Box or the Food Bank are well-known, so we often receive donations from other sources, but our hot lunch program (at Barrhead Elementary School) is not so fortunate," Gariepy said. "We were lucky that we had enough money in our bank account to get us through to the end of June if we are careful. After that, unless we receive more donations, it could be the end of the program."
The program began more than 15 years ago when an FCSS worker visited the school and noticed several students did not have enough to eat during lunch. In the initial years, FCSS sent food to the school, but it has grown to the point where the lunches are created on-site in the school's kitchen.
One of the issues FCSS has, she said, is increasing food costs, as more money must be spent to keep the program alive.
"We are averaging close to $9,000 a month to run the program," Gariepy said, adding the nominal $3 per meal does not come close to paying for the program. "Especially considering that many of the students are subsidized."
She did not have exact numbers on-hand, but about 175 students currently receive hot lunches daily, of which about 30 receive subsidies.
She added that it did not help that they needed to hire an assistant for program coordinator Sandy McCarthy because of the pandemic. Pre-COVID, the position was filled by a volunteer.
"It is a difficult situation, we don't want to have to raise fees, but we might have to next year. However, if we do, it could mean more students will need subsidies," Gariepy said.
Asked if FCSS considered offering the program just to those in need, she said that is a path they would rather avoid.
"If we did that, we would just create other issues," Gariepy said.
Thankfully, now that the immediate crisis for Thrive is over, she said she can focus more of FCSS' efforts on the hot lunch program.
But Gariepy said there is not a lot of time, as much of the funding for next year's program needs to be in place before the end of the school year.
