B.C. organization that provides food to kids in need sees registration spike amid high gas prices

A B.C. organization that feeds children in need is seeing a spike in the number of families signing up for its programs.

In the span of just one week, Backpack Buddies, an organization that provides food to vulnerable children, had 500 new families sign up for its service. That marked a 10 per cent increase in its membership in just seven days.

The organization said children from across B.C. signed up for support, including from communities near Lytton, the Lower Similkameen and Salt Spring Island.

The organization said the main reason more families registered is the impact rising gas prices are having on food costs. The strain of those costs is also being felt by the organization itself.

"In the last three months our bill's risen about $7,000 a month and we're anticipating about $4,000 a month more, just with two of our key items going up in price pretty significantly," Emily-Anne King told CTV News Vancouver.

"Oatmeal, for example, is increasing 14 per cent per unit."

Backpack Buddies works in partnership with schools to discretely deliver food packages to students on Friday mornings. The bags include meal items, fresh food and snacks to last through the weekend.