Regina restaurant dishing up hot meals for hungry kids
Fiona Odlum | CBC News | Posted: March 23, 2020 11:26 PM | Last Updated: March 23, 2020
A local restaurant is ensuring food insecure kids are being fed.
Many students across Regina are faced with missing meals on top of missing out on class time.
Many schools in Regina try to combat food insecurity by providing breakfasts and lunches.
According to United Way Regina, one in 11 families have inadequate food resources or are experiencing food insecurity due to financial constraints. The Regina Food Bank served 7,280 food requests each month in 2019.
With that on their minds, Kam Bahia, the founder of "I am Her," and the owners of the Lobby Kitchen and Bar in Regina knew they had to step in.
Bahia works closely with students groups through her program, which puts on in-school workshops to empower students and has strong connections to Regina's school divisions. Meanwhile, the Lobby's owners found themselves with an abundance of food when the pandemic hit.
Together they decided to deliver the food to the people who really needed it.
"Now more than ever we need to focus on our children and youth's mental and emotional well-being," Bahia said.
She said a nutritious meal will help relieve stress for young people and their families, and also help limit the amount of time they need to spend away from home looking for food.
Alvaro Santamaria, one of the Lobby's owners, said the outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming.
"In times like this it really shows how much of a community we have in Regina and it's great," he said.
Monday marked the first lunch delivery. Students in the city's downtown area got hot chili and garlic toast. Later in the week they will deliver warm chicken wraps.
The goal is to deliver hot lunches every day this week.
Next week they will move to making cold lunches which will include a sandwich, veggies and a juice box.
If you would like to help out you can connect with Bahia and the Lobby Kitchen and Bar via their Instagram pages @her_unfiltered and @thelobbykb