Flora David-Ogah is a single parent who arrived in Montreal four years ago.
The mother of two has watched her buying power shrink in the past year and is struggling to purchase basic necessities and support her teenage girls.
"(Prices) are increasing every day," said David-Ogah. "It's terrible."
With September around the corner, she is even more stressed.
"It's so difficult. The school supplies are (a lot) of money."
David-Ogah is one of hundreds of parents who stopped by Welcome Hall Mission Tuesday to pick up backpacks filled with pencils, notebooks and other supplies.
The organization is giving them to around 2,000 children and teenagers in the Montreal area.
Welcome Hall Mission CEO Sam Watts says they're desperately needed with parents under enormous financial strain right now.
"Money is being spent on housing, on food, so when that's all gone at the end of the month there are a lot of difficult choices to make," he said.
Canada's inflation rate cooled last month thanks to lower gas prices, but food prices jumped at the fastest pace in 40 years.
"Inflation … has a disproportionate impact on people who are lower income," said Watts.
Watts says the clientele at Welcome Hall is changing.
"I think the major difference has been the number of working families who are at the cusp and needing a bit of assistance," he said.
With a provincial election in October, Watts wants candidates to come up with long-term plans for tackling poverty.
"We need to do something collectively," he said. "One of the questions I have is, 'Why do we have to hold this event? Why is it necessary? Why aren't schools at the public level supplying students with what's needed to be equipped at an equivalent level?'"
