As school starts again, the Archway Starfish Pack program is gearing up to help 730 Abbotsford students with food every weekend.
The Starfish Pack program has become a vital support system for families struggling with the high cost of living. The program provides meal ingredients for two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, and snacks to provide the essentials over the weekend in between school food programs.
“The number of families reaching out for help is growing, and unfortunately, funding is not keeping up with the food costs or the requests for service. No child should have to go hungry and that’s why we’re asking the community to step in to help us close that gap over the weekend,” said Rebecca Thuro, Archway Food Security Manager.
Over the course of the school year, the Starfish program expects to provide more than 25,000 weekend food packs. The program relies on the generosity of individual and corporate donors to cover the $800,000 cost of running the program for the whole school year.
“We’re able to keep our costs low thanks to multiple dedicated teams of volunteers who organize and deliver the packs to different schools each week,” said Thuro.
“We currently have more than a dozen monthly donors who help cover part of the costs and would love to bring on more supporters to help us provide consistent access to food,” said Thuro. “One-time donations are also gratefully accepted, with every $25 helping provide a weekend pack.
“As a teacher, it’s a huge relief to know my students’ food needs are being addressed,” said Jana Dahl, a local school teacher.
“Early in my career, I was constantly bringing in food and trying to figure out how to feed my students on top of lesson planning. Starfish takes that pressure off and lets me focus on education.”
Jana Dahl, Local School Teacher
The increased demand has also led the program to outgrow existing distribution spaces at the Archway Food Bank and Central Heights Church. To better serve families, Starfish operations will be fully transitioning to a larger facility at the Abbotsford Pentecostal Assembly.
“We’re so grateful to have found a new space and are thankful to both churches for donating their space so together we can help children access nutritious food,” said Thuro.
In addition to the 24,218 packs distributed to 40 Abbotsford schools during the 2024/25 school year, the Summer Starfish Pack program provided 1,705 biweekly meal packs full of nutritious items to over 450 students.
Staff and volunteers filling an After The Bell pack with produce.
“I’m a single parent and I’m very grateful for this program. Sometimes it is hard to ask for help, but it’s nice to know that the community is always willing to lend a hand in hard times,” said a Starfish parent.
Donations can be made online at AbbotsfordFoodBank.com/donate-starfishpack to ensure no child misses out on nutritious and accessible meals throughout the school year.
Families wanting to access Starfish packs can reach out to their school administration to apply.
