Saskatoon school employees and student volunteers are working hard during a time of food insecurity to make sure students have a nutritious breakfast available to them before a day of learning.
Breakfast programs for Saskatoon Public Schools started in the early 1980s and now, Wâhkôhtowin school in Saskatoon prepares breakfast bags for students from preschool to Grade 8.
“We definitely saw a lack of nutrition and a need for it in schools across Canada,” said Carmen Siu, program coordinator for Breakfast Club of Canada, one of the partners providing breakfast funding at Wâhkôhtowin school.
Toonies for Tummies has estimated as many as two million children may now be at risk of going to school on an empty stomach, double the number prior to the pandemic.
Research shows that when children get adequate nutrition, academic achievement improves.
Educational assistants and a few student volunteers make approximately 400 breakfast snack bags each weekday morning full of fruit, yogurt, bagels, cereal, granola bars and whatever else the kitchen has on hand.
“Every child, no matter who they are, what has gone on, needs proper nutrition and a great breakfast,” Siu said.
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She noted that the kids get to have a sense of community around sharing meals in their school and get to build volunteering skills through the program.
“The kitchen is the heart of the home as far as I’m concerned, and I like to think that our nutrition room is part of a home,” said Anne MacLellan, community school coordinator with Saskatoon Public Schools.
Students at the school said they get to help out with dishes, cutting fruit and preparing the snack bags for delivery.
“We want our students to know that they are known, valued and believed in,” said MacLellan. “Handing out a piece of fruit is a huge part of that as far as I’m concerned.
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