More than one-quarter of children in Saskatchewan live in poverty.

That, according to Campaign 2000’s annual report. The name of the report references the year the House of Commons pledged - in 1989 - to end child poverty in Canada.

In 2017, the child poverty rate in the province was at 24.1%. Today, that number is at 26.7 %. The national rate is 19.6%.

Hunger in Moose Jaw's Executive Director Sharla Sept said poverty doesn't just affect children's stomachs.

"Their education, and how they attend school [suffer]. Having an empty stomach often distracts someone from learning. We see that if kids are experiencing food security issues, that would be a direct result of [poverty]."

Through their child nutrition programs, Hunger in Moose Jaw serves 300 lunches per day throughout the school year. They also serve lunches during their summer program. The numbers add up to approximately 70,000 lunches per year. Sept said they haven't seen their numbers increase over the past year.

"There seems to be a greater need this year. There are definitely a lot of children going without. A lot of parents come in for clothing," Community and Family Services Coordinator at Moose Jaw's Salvation Army, Sonya Bowles said. "We help a lot with winter coats and winter boots, hats, and mitts. And food...[people come in] and they're short for food."

The Campaign 2000 report uses the Census Family Low Income Measure to calculate poverty rates. Behind Manitoba at 29%, and Nunavut at 34.8%, Saskatchewan has the highest rate of child poverty in the country.

 Miquel Sanchez, an associate professor at the University of Regina, co-authored the report. He said Saskatchewan’s findings were, “Unfortunately...not surprising.”