More weekend meals for more kids: Breakfast program expanded by Winnipeg Harvest

More hungry schoolchildren in Winnipeg are getting help from the city's largest food bank.

Winnipeg Harvest's Breakfast2Go,apilot program launched last year to provide mealsto studentson weekends, has two more schools joining the fold.

The program startedat Mulvey School in the Wolseley neighbourhood and is now expanding toPinkhamand Victor H. L. Wyatt schools.

"This is a success andnot only for the students, but also for our community, for Winnipeggers," saidKeren Taylor-Hughes,executive director of Winnipeg Harvest.

"We look at ways that we can break the cycle of poverty and studies show us that if kids are entrenched in school and they're eating and they're healthy, they will learn and be more successful better test scores, more self-esteem and alsothey will finish high school.

"When you're not finishing high school, your opportunities for the future are very limited."

Fuelling children for learning means creating strong citizens for the community, Taylor-Hughes said.

A lack of nutritious food also puts children at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, she said.

PinkhamSchool, near Health Sciences Centre, was chosen to be included because it is in an area with the second-highest child poverty ratein Canada.

Victor H. L. Wyattis in a lower-incomepocket of the St. Vital neighbourhood.

Filling a gap

TheBreakfast2Goprogram started after a suggestion was made by a nurse practitioner at Mulveywho was acutely aware of the need forgood nutrition for growing bodies and minds.

Many schools in the city have breakfast programs before classes beginfor the day, but students areleft to fend for themselves on weekends.

Nurse practitioner Parusia Purohit approached Harvest, theBreakfast Clubs of Canada and Winnipeg School Division and got the ball rolling.

• Breakfast2Go: Winnipeg Harvest
• Mulvey pilots new Winnipeg Harvest breakfast program

The program, which launched the second week of November 2018, gave students the opportunity totakehome two breakfast packages for the weekend, made up of meals that require little to no adult supervision to prepare.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it steadies blood sugar levels and fuels both the brain and body," Purohitsaid.

All 370 Mulvey students were given the option of taking part and the expectation was that at some point over the year, some would opt out, Taylor-Hughes said.

"We were quite surprised that every single week, every single student took a bag home. That really told us there was a need," she said.

"We were really happy to see it was helping to fill a gap."

School attendance went up, sick days decreased,test scores increased, self-esteem was boosted and student behaviour improved, with kids listening better, Taylor-Hughes said.

"We also saw a decrease in the need for the breakfast program on Monday mornings because kids weren't in that dire straits where they had to come in and have a big breakfast because they hadn't eaten all weekend,"she said.

By the end of the pilot program, about 10,000 packages were handed out, assembled with the help of school volunteers.

In addition to the food, thepackages include handwritten notes of affirmation to nourish self-confidence.

They're written not only by school staff and community volunteers but also by members of the publicWinnipeg Harvest takes a mobile "affirmation station" to events in the city and by high school students.Garden City Collegiate has affirmation stations in classrooms and the notes are passed on to Harvest.

Withthree schools now taking part inBreakfast2Go,750 students will have weekend meals, Harvest said.

Harvest is now exploring possiblyexpanding the programto a rural school next year.