How Toonies for Tummies Directly Impacts a Community

Kellie Brace, Nutrition Program Coordinator at The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation, spoke with one of our 2017 #Toonies4Tummies influencers, Akheela from Create With Mom, upon the completion of the campaign. Kellie shared how the funding from the Toonies for Tummies campaign has directly impacted their local community.

Kellie Brace, Nutrition Program Coordinator at The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation, spoke with one of our 2017 #Toonies4Tummies influencers, Akheela from Create With Mom, upon the completion of the campaign. Kellie shared how the funding from the Toonies for Tummies campaign has directly impacted their local community.

"The partnership between The Grocery Foundation and the Ontario Student Nutrition Program Network has benefited schools offering breakfast, snack and/or lunch programs across the province. In the South East Region we are incredibly grateful for this support. In addition to their voucher program and financial contribution, The Grocery Foundation also facilitates the province wide "Toonies for Tummies" campaign. Student Nutrition Programs in our region provided 2,491,743 meals and snacks last year. The school staff, volunteers, and our Food and Logistics Coordinator do an absolutely fabulous job of purchasing the food needed to prepare these meals and snacks on a shoe-string budget. The funds received from "Toonies for Tummies" help ensure that schools have funds needed to provide healthy and nutritious food options every day throughout the school year. Funds collected through this campaign are returned to the communities that made the contributions. It is our experience that when fundraising revenue stays local, there is a great likelihood of giving. "Toonies for Tummies" is a great example as the funds collected support the donors' families, friends and neighbours. In addition to adding funds into our programs, the "Toonies for Tummies" campaign helps us to spread the word about the benefits of student nutrition programs and reminds our communities that these programs are offered in their local schools. Increasing awareness allows us to build local capacity for the sustainability of the programs. Last year $31,450 was returned to the South East Region from the "Toonies for Tummies" campaign. This is a significant contribution and on behalf of students, staff, and volunteers connected to Food for Thought (Lanark County), Food for Learning (Hastings and Prince Edward counties) and The Food Sharing Project (Lennox and Addington and Frontenac counties), we send a huge THANK YOU to The Grocery Foundation."Kellie Brace

The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation:

Vision

All students have the support needed to realize wellbeing and success.

Mission

We fundraise to provide programs and services that help students overcome barriers and succeed in school.

The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation accomplishes its mission by working with volunteers, teachers, principals, school staff and donors to provide philanthropic support for an entire spectrum of enhanced learning opportunities for students.

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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.