School breakfast programs get new nutrition officers

The P.E.I. Department of Health is hiring two new healthy eating officers, one English and one French, to help with school breakfast programs in the province.

Nutritional advice for the programs used to be provided by the Healthy Eating Alliance, which disbanded last May after it ran out offunding.

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"The Healthy Eating Alliance in the past had provided support to schools," said Sterling Carruthers, the school health specialist with the Department of Education.

Schools looking for advice on changing menus will now turn to the healthy eating officers, said Carruthers. The officers will also support school nutrition policies, as well as offer support in early years centres and the community at large.

Community fundraising central to programs

Last year the province increased funding to the school nutrition programs to $200,000. Each week, 8,500 students are served by a breakfast or snack program, nearly 50 per cent of all Island students.

The school breakfast and snack programs are run by 600 volunteers, and the money provided by the province only provides 15 to 25 per cent of the total cost. The rest is fundraised by the school.

"It's really up to them to ensure they have the community support, the business support, donations from the local community and business organizations." said Carruthers.

This is the first year the province has taken over distributing funding for the programs, along with overall facilitation and consultation.

Nearly all schools now offering food programs

How much money schools get from the province depends on the number of students they have and the services they offer.

"If you're offering a snack program one day a week, you may get a few hundred dollars," said Carruthers.

"If you're a large school in the province that's offering you know, breakfast five days a week to hundreds of students, you get upwards of nine, 10 thousand [dollars]."

Carruthers said each year the number of schools participating grows by about three or four. This year 59 schools are participating, with only a few opting out.

The schools already have their funding, and many of the programs start this week.

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