Child Nutrition Network feeds over 8,500 students every day

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Bloomsburg Public Schools in Norfolk County has full attendance when monthly hot lunches are served.

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“All the kids are eating there,” said Gail Anderson, who runs the school’s student nutrition program with fellow parent Lelynn Pastil.

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“We have kids who have come to help us three, four, five times,” Anderson said.

A hot meal is a treat. The rest of the time, a small group of volunteers helps him serve snacks to about 200 students three times a week.

“There’s definitely a need,” Pastil said, noting that some elementary school students “are always hungry.”

“It’s hard to see,” Anderson added. “There are a lot of kids who don’t have a proper lunch. They can’t afford the fresh fruit that we provide. The cost of living is ridiculously high, right?”

Bloomsburg’s refreshment program is funded through social services agency Haldimand Norfolk REACH and cost $11,300 to operate last year. This year’s price is expected to reach $14,500.

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The school added 60 children due to boundary adjustments and explained some of the increase. But rising food prices are straining snack programs across two rural counties, said Sharon Smith, REACH child nutrition network advocate.

Mr Smith told The Spectator that while food costs have increased by 8 to 10 per cent, participation in local school breakfast and snack programs has increased “across the board”.

Every day, Child Nutrition Network provides meals to more than 8,500 students in 46 schools who are skipping breakfast or preparing a nutritious lunch. Students pick up a protein source such as a fruit or vegetable, a package of granola bars or crackers, a yogurt cup or cheese.

“This is universal, so every child has an opportunity to participate,” Smith said, adding that the surge in demand is unlike anything she has seen in the 20 years she has been running the nutrition network. Ta.

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Pastille said there was a mental health component to not having to worry about food, and pointed to the educational benefits of eating a nutritious breakfast rather than “taking up sugar.” .

“Teachers came to us and said it makes a difference,” she said.

“If[students]can only focus on the fact that they’re hungry, they can’t think. They’re not learning. This helps them meet their nutritional needs.”

Funding for the Child Nutrition Network comes to REACH from individual donations and school-level fundraising, as well as from provinces and local governments such as the Breakfast Club of Canada.

Last month, Norfolk County approved a $3,000 regional grant for the nutrition network. However, REACH still faces a $20,000 shortfall this year.

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Smith said per-meal spending has increased by 60% since before the pandemic, and at the same time, the number of students coming to class hungry has nearly doubled.

Some schools are increasing the number of days in their nutrition programs and offering daily breakfasts and snacks, putting pressure on volunteers who spent 18,000 hours preparing 870,000 meals last year. .

Bloomsburg parents are happy to accept cash donations and on-site assistance from people in the community who have passed police screening. It could be something as small as volunteering to chop vegetables or wash containers and coolers while waiting for parents or guardians to pick up their kids after school.

“Every little thing helps, even 15 minutes a week,” Pastille said.

JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. This initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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