Meet Kristen from North Hastings High School

At the Agents of Change Summit in Toronto on February 8th, Kristen represented the Southeast Region; Frontenac, Lennox, Addington, Lanark, Hasting...

At the Agents of Change Summit in Toronto on February 8th, Kristen represented the Southeast Region; Frontenac, Lennox, Addington, Lanark, Hasting & Prince Edward counties, which feeds over 35,000 school-aged children every day.

Kristen is a Grade 11 student from North Hastings High School in Bancroft, Ontario. Through her direct involvement with the breakfast programs offered at schools, Kristen knows that in order to learn well, kids to eat well!

During her presentation, she shared her ideas of how to further the message of the need and the impact student nutritional programs make in the lives of the kids who are able to utilize them. Ultimately, Kristen would like to change the stigma surrounding the food programs. She believes nutritional programs should be open to all students, "whether it be you slept in and had to skip breakfast or just ran out of cereal for the morning."

Kim from Tales of a Ranting Ginger was able to interview Kristen prior to her attending the Summit, to read her full story, including more about her presentation at the Agents of Change Summit, click here.

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We are so grateful to Canadians who support Toonies for Tummies during our annual store campaign and, year-round, online.

You may know on April 16th, the Federal Government confirmed plans to support student nutrition programs. Specifically, the budget has announced the creation of a National School Food Program, which will provide $1 billion over five years to Employment and Social Development Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Indigenous Services Canada, starting in 2024‑25.

You may wonder what does this government funding mean specific to the need and our efforts to fundraise?

Without a doubt, we continue to need your support. While many student nutrition program leaders are encouraged by the incremental government support, many have taken to the news and social media to confirm even with this support, funding gaps will persist.

The Grocery Foundation's Vision, that no Canadian child goes to school hungry, remains fully intact. Our work continues and remains vital to support hungry children through their school’s student nutrition program. There is no change whatsoever in our focus, our mission, or our reliance on your support.

The programs we help fund are universal in nature. That means all children who require a healthy meal have access. Those on the front lines of these programs affirm their positive impact and positive halo beyond the day’s nutrition, from attendance, behaviours to the school community and mental health. The programs you help fund also support foundational nutrition knowledge and social skill building, as many programs include mechanisms for student involvement in menu planning, food preparation and serving of food to peers.

Thank you for choosing to support hungry children in your community, nourishing their health, well-being, academic success while fostering their school community. With your continued support, we will continue to help dreams take flight and nourish over 3,000 programs and neighbourhoods, yours among them.