Student Nutrition Programs provide access to healthy meals and snacks at school and have various benefits for those who participate. Benefits include increased community connectedness with fellow students and teachers, improved academic success/school performance and increased energy levels. Another great benefit of these programs is that they provide student volunteer and leadership opportunities.
At Bruce T Lindley Public School their Grab & Go Breakfast Program, led by Nancy Turingia, who has been a Halton Food for Thought volunteer for over 12 years, recognizes the importance of student leadership and engages the student population to take on important roles within the program to ensure its success. Students support the preparation of the bins which include items from all our main food groups – protein, grains and fruit/vegetables - for the students to eat. This program runs five days a week, so there is a lot of preparation time that goes into ensuring the bins are prepared and delivered on time for the hungry students to access. To help ensure the students understand the importance of delivering food in a safe manner, the student volunteers all participate in an introduction to Safe Food Handling delivered at their school. Through volunteering with their school program, students can build relationships with fellow volunteers and work with Nancy and staff to provide feedback on the program to ensure it meets the student’s needs. This is a great example of the additional benefits of running a school food program and how it can bring the community together while ensuring students have access to nutritious food to fuel their day ahead.
If you are interested in supporting our programs, there are many ways to do so from volunteering to donating to ensure the sustainability and strength of our Student Nutrition Programs across Halton Region. To learn more about how you can get involved visit our Take Action page (haltonfoodforthought.com)
