School may have been out for less than two weeks but agencies across Niagara are getting ready for back to school.
Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold have already kicked off their 'Snacks n' Sneakers' program.
CEO Betty-Lou Souter says they have opened registration, "We are concerned about the numbers this year and what is going to happen. We originally thought we were going to do our registration in August but we made a corporate decision to get it going now."
Souter also admits that costs have gone up.
Back in 2008 when the program launched $25 dollars was all they needed for one kid - now it's a bit more, "We are upping our ask a little bit to between $75-$100 per child, which we will leverage with our other partners."
Last year the program helped more a thousand students.
Anyone interested in donating or registering a child can contact community care.