In the dwindling weeks of 2017, Kevin Beatty and Steve Dalla Lana sat down with community representatives from the Sinclar Group.
The president of the Prince George Rotary Club and the principal of Westwood Elementary had an ask in mind. In the fall of 2016, the two had worked together to establish a free morning breakfast program at Westwood. This time, they were hoping to establish a new school breakfast program at Spruceland Traditional, a school of about 210 students. They asked if Sinclar would fund the program.
"'No problem,'" was the response from Sinclar, according to Beatty.
Spruceland's breakfast program was established in January of 2018. It joined a growing number of similar programs across District 57 that are largely staffed by volunteers and funded by businesses and non-profits in the community.
According to School District 57 Superintendent Marilyn Marquis-Forster, at least 16 of the District's 40 schools currently have morning breakfast programs to ensure youth go to class with food in their bellies.
"The need to address food for learning in all school locations seems to be increasing over time," Marquis-Forster wrote in an e-mail to the Citizen.
Funding for these programs come from a variety of sources. Many of these programs are funded by business or industry groups, such as the Presidents Choice Children's Charity, the B.C. Dairy Association or the Walmart Community Grant. Others are funded by non-profit groups, such as Show Kids You Care or the Breakfast Clubs of Canada. Mackenzie has seen its programs funded by the Mackenzie Elks Club and Hospital Employees' Union Local 180.
The programs have expanded beyond schools deemed Tier 1, also known as inner-city schools.
Tier 1 schools traditionally have a higher percentage of children from lower income families.
Beatty said both Spruceland and Westwood elementary schools have morning meal programs despite their status as Tier 2 schools. Westwood's program feeds between 15 and 25 children every morning.
He is pleased with the progress of the two programs, and he said the Westwood program has secured stable funding from a variety of sources, including a Community Gaming Grant from the Provincial government, and long-term partnership funding from three industry partners: Winton Global, Lakeland Mills and the Sinclar Group.
But despite the financial support, Beatty said the support of the Prince George District Parent Advisory Council proved to be essential. Four volunteers from the PAC have staffed the program.
"The need is there. The thing is that, in order to be successful, the school has to have a strong PAC and no meal program in place," Beatty said.
"You have to have an administrator who really wants to get the ball rolling."
Ron Brent Elementary is a school classified as Tier 1. But school principal Dan Watt said the school has been able to offer an impressive array of programs for children.
"We've got happy learners, these guys are ready to go," Watt said.
The school has a number of other supports for students, including an on-site social worker, a counsellor, two aboriginal education workers and a community tools programmer. The school also offers a 'Mindful Mondays' program, which allows children to spend 5-10 minutes doing calming and breathing exercises with a yoga mat each week. Sixty per cent of the school's children are First Nations.
Ron Brent has had a breakfast program in place for several years, supported by the national non-profit Breakfast Club of Canada. Children are served their choice of fruit, cereal or breakfast sandwiches. The school's program has been supported financially by the natural gas company TransCanada. The program feeds roughly 60 students a day.
"I can't say for sure if it's something communities are relying on, but I do think it's an add-on benefit for our kids. A full belly makes it easier to go on and do their job," Watt said.
Benjamin Neumer, a senior advisor for the Breakfast Club of Canada, attended a morning breakfast at Ron Brent last month. He said the organization has established, along with industry partners like TransCanada, six programs in the north along Highway 16. Together, these programs feed 400 children each morning.
Neumer said the programs often attract support and volunteers from local parents. He said he has seen a noticeable improvement in the mood of children as a result of the programs.
"We've seen a reduction in bullying as a result of it," Neumer said.
Neumer said school programs consciously offers breakfasts to all children, hoping to reduce any associated stigma for children who take part.
"The more kids start hearing that these programs are more accepting that there's no stigma attached at all," Neumer said.
