A charity that supports students across Durham Region says hunger among children is growing — and it is asking Pickering residents to help keep kids fed once school lets out this summer.

The Ignite Durham Learning Foundation (IDLF) released the findings of its 2026 School Food Nutrition Survey on May 28, drawing responses from 119 Durham District School Board schools. The organization describes the results as a sobering picture of how much families now depend on school-based food programs, according to the Ignite Durham Learning Foundation.

Many schools reported they are increasingly supporting students who arrive without a lunch or without enough food to get through the day.

"The results confirm what educators, school staff, and community organizations are witnessing every day, student hunger is real, growing, and impacting learning," said Michelle Arseneault, Secretary of the Ignite Durham Learning Foundation Board and DDSB Trustee.

"For many students, school food programs are not simply a snack or convenience, they are a lifeline."

The survey also pointed to the response already underway in Durham's schools. Educators, volunteers and community partners are running breakfast clubs, snack bins, food pantries, take-home food supports, culturally responsive meals and emergency nutrition assistance for students and their families.

Need continues when classes end

The foundation says that support network largely disappears in July and August, when students lose daily access to the meals and snacks they count on during the school year. To close that gap, IDLF has launched Ignite Summer, a community fundraising campaign dedicated to student nutrition through the summer months.

"When school doors close for the summer, many students lose access to the consistent nutrition they rely on throughout the school year," said Stacey Lepine-Fisher, Executive Director of the Ignite Durham Learning Foundation.

"The Ignite Summer campaign is about ensuring Durham children continue to have access to healthy food, dignity, and the opportunity to thrive all summer long."

How Pickering residents can help

Residents who want to contribute can learn more or donate at idlf.ca, or contact the foundation by email at ignite.foundation@ddsb.ca.

IDLF is a registered charitable organization that operates within the Durham District School Board. Its mandate goes beyond food: the foundation works to support students experiencing poverty, which it says can have deep and lasting effects on a child's physical, mental, emotional and academic development.

The organization's stated goals include ensuring every student has nutritious food at lunch and snack time, is dressed appropriately for the weather, and can pursue success in post-secondary education.

With Pickering students among the tens of thousands served by DDSB schools, the foundation is counting on local donors — residents, businesses and community groups — to help carry school nutrition programs through the two months of the year when classrooms sit empty.