How the Y helps 18,000 students fuel up to start the day
Mornings at Brampton’s Sir Winston Churchill Public School are anything but quiet. Before the first bell rings, the staff room is buzzing with activity as teachers and volunteers prepare a breakfast bounty that’ll feed more than 200 hungry students. Believing that no child should start the day on an empty stomach, the team whips up tasty and nutritious fare each day as part of the Peel Student Nutrition Program (PSNP). What’s up for grabs today? Whole-wheat grilled cheese sammies, locally grown apples, fresh veggies, and kid-friendly smoothies. Yum!
Since 2014, the YMCA PSNP has called schools like Sir Winston Churchill home. Aimed primarily at providing students with free, nutrient-dense breakfast meals, the PSNP is helping to ensure young minds are well-nourished and fueled to learn throughout the day. Although menus vary from school to school, kids typically chow down on bagels, yogurt, granola bars, as well as classic brekkie dishes like eggs and pancakes.
Like most schools, the team at Sir Winston Churchill starts their days early in order to organize breakfast. They don’t seem to mind, though, since the trade-off is well worth it. “Because of the program, my students, as a whole, are not hungry anymore,” says Abby, one of the school’s teacher-chefs.
With “showtime” looming, a large table loaded with food is wheeled away and positioned in the middle of a large entryway. Moments later, the school doors open and in pours a herd of students headed directly toward the table. Children are greeted with a warm smile and before they leave with a sandwich in one hand and a smoothie in the other, the team makes it a point to share a couple laughs with every student.
With a whopping 3,000,000 meals served annually to elementary and secondary school students from 207 Peel schools, the PSNP makes a world of a difference for children and their families. “These programs allow students to begin the day on the same level,” says Andy Seto, director of PSNP. “There are many reasons why students may start the day hungry — poverty, long commutes to school, early sports practices — but this program gives everyone an opportunity to have a healthy start to their day, which means they can better focus on learning.”
As Seto notes, the relationship between a quality morning meal and the classroom is at the heart of the PSNP — and it’s for good reason. Kids who consume nutritious breakfasts each day are more alert and better able to concentrate on learning. This, according to the growing body of research on the matter, leads to better academic performance in subjects like literacy, science, and math, not to mention happier students.
Behaviour problems at school are also known to decrease when children are nourished with enough food to sustain them for the day. At Sir Winston Churchill, Abby’s noticed a difference in her classroom when students begin the day nourished. “I have seen a big improvement in the attitudes of my students,” she explains. “The behaviours are down and they’re performing better.”
Still, with 1 in 5 Canadian children at risk of going to school on an empty stomach, it’s clear that there’s much work to be done to combat child hunger. “The goal is to ensure that schools with the greatest need have programs,” Seto says. “It would be great to have a Student Nutrition Program in every Peel school.”
March is Nutrition Month! Help your youngster unlock the potential of food — check out the Dietitians of Canada website! There, you’ll find information that will help your family on their journey to achieving an overall healthy lifestyle, including nutritious recipes sourced from the app, Cookspiration; local events and workshops; and guidance on where to seek support from a dietitian in your area.
