Simply Amazing

Helping others feels good. That is especially true when we help children.

Helping others feels good. That is especially true when we help children.

Earlier this year, we invited you to take the #ToonieChallenge at one of the many grocery stores taking part in the 2019 Toonies for Tummies campaign. It was amazing to see store teams, including managers, cashiers, and customer service personnel, at stores in Western Canada and in Ontario take part. These teams also played a vital role in helping us highlight just how many children attend school hungry and invited you to donate a toonie during your visit to the store. To say your support was overwhelming would be an understatement!

This year, the Toonies for Tummies campaign raised a record $1.5M!!!!! This means over 750,000 healthy breakfasts and snacks will be making their way to local student nutrition programs. It also means that schools which have been waiting to establish a breakfast program, may now receive the critical funding they require to get up and running or an existing program that is funding insecure – yes you read that correctly, programs designed to feed children who are food insecure are often themselves funding insecure – can have greater stability when it comes to ensuring nutritious choices are available to children each school day. As communicated, donations will remain in the local community where they were made. It takes us a bit of time to coordinate this, so stay tuned for more news on that front.

If you’ve ever wondered how much your donation matters, consider this. Earlier this year, The Grocery Foundation shared news of a report published by the C.D Howe Institute. This report confirmed many positive effects associated with student nutrition programs from community-building among students to the attendance they promote. What’s more, “evidence suggests breakfast has benefits on children’s on-task behaviours in classrooms, and evidence that habitual breakfast consumption improves grades or test scores”. The report also states “food insecurity may be associated with higher adverse mental health outcomes ― both nutritional and psychological stress”. There is little doubt, you are making a difference for school-aged children right in your backyard.

Perhaps you will never go to a program. Perhaps you will never meet a child that is benefiting from your generosity. Regardless, by taking the #ToonieChallenge, by sharing our video and helping us spread the word, you’ve done something wonderful. We hope that makes you feel great. It should.

Thank you.

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Chasing dreams should be part of every child’s day. Going without breakfast shouldn’t be.

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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.