Feeding students with the School Fuel program
An Orillia-based food bank is teaming up with a locally-run business to help address the rising number of kids facing food insecurity.
The Sharing Place Food Centre has been working towards supporting youth in need of healthy meals for years through its School Fuel program. The food bank is teaming up with Home Hardware in Orillia to help drum up donations for what the organization's executive director says is a growing need.
"You're a single mom, working hard, trying to provide for your kids and you're not able to put food in that lunchbox, that's a very stressful time and there's a lot of stigma attached to that," said Chris Peacock of The Sharing Place. "So we know if there's kids that are going to school without the healthy food required to be able to fuel their brains and their minds that we're able to support them."
Throughout April, Orillia's Home Hardware will match donations to the School Fuel program up to $20,000. The owners are parents themselves and recognize the need firsthand.
"When we saw that we could sort of provide impact by matching we saw that as a vehicle that we could jump on board and hopefully other people will as well," said partner Kirk Mclean.
Schools can place an order to purchase food through a secure e-commerce platform on a bi-weekly basis. The costs are split in half between the Sharing Centre and each school.
The program was first started in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. With students out of the classroom, many underprivileged youth were going without the nutrition programs held by schools that they relied on.
"So we stepped up to the plate and were able to work with our 23 local schools to distribute fresh, healthy, at that moment it was grab and go snacks that then got distributed to the kids in class," Peacock said.
In its early days, the School Fuel program helped about 1300 kids. Over the last few years as cost of living challenges impact more people the demand has risen, with approximately 4000 youth now relying on the program.
Peacock says about 1 in 5 families in Simcoe County are considered food insecure.
"If a kid shows up to school without food in their lunchbox can be a very stressful moment; it can be a moment where they don't want to sit with their friends because they don't have enough food in their lunch pail," Peacock said.
"So being able to supply those kids with fresh, healthy food, in school where they can access it in a stigma free environment is a wonderful thing and we at the Sharing Place look forward to supporting that program."
According to Peacock, the program has obvious health benefits and can also create a better learning environment for everyone, including those who do not rely on it.
"If one kid is hungry during the day they could throw off the entire class; you could have 30 kids that aren't going to have a solid learning day because of one kid who didn't have enough food and their behaviours can change," Peacock said. "So if we're able to give food to kids in class to keep their ability to learn up and their distractions down, it's an important thing."
Monetary donations are most appreciated as The Sharing Place has more buying power with each dollar. However food donations are always welcome and can also be dropped off at Home Hardware.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he does not regret calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko,' and now his MPs are renewing calls for the House of Commons Speaker to resign, this time over ordering the Official Opposition leader to leave the chamber.
Is it cold, flu or norovirus? Symptoms explained
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading across Canada, with some symptoms overlapping with other viruses. CTVNews.ca spoke with a health expert to find out how you can tell you have norovirus, the most common form of stomach flu, and what to do if you have it.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Ontario's police watchdog continues probe of high-speed pursuit involving fatal crash
The investigation continues into a collision that killed two grandparents and their infant grandchild during a high-speed police chase on the wrong way of Highway 401 east of Toronto.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Search continues for 'armed man' in Dartmouth, N.S.
Police say they continue to search for an armed man who allegedly threatened people in Dartmouth, N.S.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.