'Increased demand': Huge number of lunches needed to ensure kids don't go hungry

Albury West Rotary Club has donated $12,000 to Carevan's school lunch program, which provides meals to school children facing food insecurity at home.

Carevan founder Dr John Brabant said the donation would help the charity keep up with the rising demand.

"We've been doing the program for a number of years, but we've had to increase it because of the increased demand," he said.

"It's getting worse. We expect (the number of lunches we provide) to grow within the next 12 months from 2500 to almost 4000.

"West Albury's donation makes this program sustainable, and enables us to vary our lunches and increase the quality."

Beyond providing essential nutrition to students, Dr Brabant said the program helps kids not feel left out.

"It enables the teachers also to prioritise those kids and see that they're in need, and maybe allow (teachers) to trace back problems at home in the family and domestic situations," he said.

"Those kids that haven't got lunch, they not only won't feel left out or sometimes bullied, but instead they'll have lunch just like the other kids."

Carevan's Jacqui Partington, also the principal of St Monica's Primary School in Wodonga, said research suggests eating a healthy diet improves mental health, concentration and memory.

"We know kids learn better if their basic human needs are met and there are many children in Albury-Wodonga who come to school without lunch," she said.

"We believe (the program) is making a big difference to the lives of these kids and particularly their capacity to learn and grow.

"With the current cost-of-living, many of our local kids are not afforded this basic human right of having enough to eat to sustain their growing minds and bodies.

"We are really proud that we can offer this service and have an impact on these little brains and bodies, contributing to more ideal learning conditions."

The $12,000 donation comes from the money raised at Albury West Rotary Club's Nail Can Hill Run this Sunday, May 5.

Bill Smits, president of the club, said the program was an important part of Rotary's mission to support the younger generation.

"Kids are an important part of the community, and not having a proper meal is detrimental for their education, for their well-being," he said.

"What Carevan is offering to these kids is an opportunity to give them a better opportunity at education and a better lifestyle moving forward.

"That's something we at Rotary are more than happy to support."

The club's vocational director Bruce Dwerryhouse said the program was at "the core of our philosophy".

"We're here to help the community, and particularly young people who otherwise may not be able to fulfil all the things that they want to do in life," he said.

"To get them started at an early stage and to give them a nutritious meal, it helps behaviour problems, and it also helps the learning process, too.

"We see that as a very, very important part of our business."