Student lunch program continues despite strike
By Lethbridge Herald on October 15, 2025.
Volunteers and staff members hold lunch bags ready to be given to their next client, as part of a modified version of their Mindful Munchies Program Friday in the Lethbridge Food Bank parking lot.Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
The Lethbridge Food Bank continues to help families of school-age children during the teacher’s strike through its Mindful Munchies Program, by providing a nutritious lunch and snack that kids would otherwise have eaten at school.
Valerie Lazicki, executive director of the Lethbridge Food Bank Society, says instead of delivering the lunches to the various schools in the city, they are offering a drive through or walk through for pickup at the food bank.
“We started the program in 2017 to address the need of food insecurity of students in our local schools, and it has grown significantly since, but we are proud to continue to provide solid nutritional support in school around the community,” says Lazicki.
During school days, under regular circumstances, the food bank has a kitchen specifically made for the Mindful Munchies Program, where volunteers prepare the lunches, pack them, put them into totes, and they get delivered to the schools.
“Now that the strike is on, we had to get creative, so we are doing a drive through, or a walk through for parents, or grandparents or whoever in the community that is taking care of students during the strike to pick up lunches,” says Lazicki. “We will give them enough for a couple of days, so they don’t have to come every single day.”
Mindful Munchies is barrier free: students in any school are eligible to receive the lunches and organizers are not keeping track of names, but only school and grade for statistical purposes.
“We’ve had some people show up from out of town, because our surrounding community schools are also on strike and close to students,” says Lazicki.
Lunches include a sandwich, a cheese string, a yogurt, a fresh fruit and a snack like banana bread or Rice Krispies squares. Students with allergies are also accommodated.
Thursday was the first day of their Mindful Munchies drive through and Lazicki says organizers were surprised by how many people showed up/
“We ended up providing almost 100 bagged lunches…so it took off quite well.”
Organizers continue to evaluate the strike situation daily, while also being prepared in advance.
“In anticipation of this, we prepared quite a large number of sandwiches that got frozen, and the bags with the other items are ready to go and we are handing them out in whatever quantities we need to during the strike,” says Lazicki.
Once the students go back to school, the program will resume delivering lunches to schools as normal.
For those wishing to donate for the program, Lazicki said monetary donations are best as they purchase the items that are part of the lunches.
“People can donate through our website, Canada Helps or by coming down and provide a donation, and if they want to take a tour of the foodbank, they are always welcome.”
Donors can specify if they want their funds to go directly to the Mindful Munchies Program, or they can make donations in general for the greater need.
“They can specify that on their cheques, or on the website, or they can simply let us know if they decide to make the donation in person,” says Lazicki.
The modified version of the Mindful Munchies Program will run Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot west of the food bank building.
“We are also available to give those lunches outside of those hours, if someone can only come earlier or can only come later, they can come into the food bank and we will hand out the lunches,” says Lazicki.
21-20
This is good. But, i’m wondering. If Home Economics is taught, if it is still taught, from grades 7 to 12, rather than schools only volunteer their culinary skills at the shelter, could they not implement a lunch program at their own schools, for experience? Just food for thought. No pun intended