NEWS RELEASE
CANADIAN RED CROSS
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In communities across the province, Ontario’s Student Nutrition Program reaches children and youth at over 4,000 participating schools.
A range of breakfast, snack and lunch programs are supported by involved community partners, a large volunteer base, lead agencies like the Canadian Red Cross and a desire to ensure that all children in the region are well nourished and ready to learn.
Locally, the Timmins Branch of the Canadian Red Cross administers funding to 89 schools from Moosonee to New Liskeard, serving 12,745 students a total of 1,142,440 meals each year.
Funding from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services provides a small percentage of program costs, while the rest of the funds come from the fundraising efforts of parents, community partners and sponsors.
To raise awareness and support for student nutrition programs during Hunger Awareness Week September 21-25, 2015, various local schools will be conducting a Cereal Drive among their student body and parent community.
“The ‘Bowlful of Breakfast’ Campaign will provide needed in-kind support to help schools sustain their programs” says Student Nutrition Program Lead Sylvie Dicaire.
In some schools, plans are underway to hold the cereal drive as a classroom challenge to build the tallest strongest structure from cereal boxes collected.
“At St. Paul School, we strive to develop the whole child and that means that we understand the value of a complete breakfast. Students need to have the nourishment needed to have fit minds for learning” comments Vice Principal Erica Raymond. The Bowlful of Breakfast Campaign will allow us to have a plentiful supply of cereal for our nutrition program.”
Principal Jeremy Hall, stated “At R. Ross Beattie Senior Public, our Student Nutrition program has been a valuable addition to student learning and well-being. We’ve observed that our students concentrate on assigned tasks in class when they fuel up on nutritious food. Our Nutrition Program has also provided Ross Beattie with links to parent and community groups, who have come into the school to meet our students and serve our students nutrition food options.”
By making healthy choices universally available to ALL students, regardless of their socioeconomic status, morning meal programs provide a framework for healthy eating habits to last a lifetime and ensure that basic needs do not become barriers to learning.
Donations from the public are welcome at participating schools. For more information about the upcoming Cereal Drive or about Student Nutrition Programs, please contact Jennifer Vachon or Rena Keenan Buhler at 705 267-4900
About Hunger Awareness Week
Hunger Awareness Week is a week-long initiative that challenges Canadians to learn more about the issue of hunger, the important work of food banks and other hunger fighting organizations in reducing hunger, and to take action.
Together, Canadians can make an impact on the solvable issue of hunger in Canada and find solutions to hunger in communities across Canada.
Hunger Awareness Week was created to provide food security organizations with an opportunity to educate about the reality of hunger in Canada and to encourage all Canadians to make a choice to help those in need.
Close to 850,000 individuals turn to food banks for support each month, and close to 2 million Canadians are food insecure, struggling with not knowing where their next meal may come from.
Today, more than 800 food banks and 2,900 affiliated agencies work in communities across the country to assist Canadians in need.
In Timmins, other Hunger Awareness Weeks are being planned. Contact Anti-Hunger Coalition Timmins Executive Director Michellle Goulet [email protected] for more information.
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