September is Back to School Month, and children all over Chatham-Kent are returning to school and some are embarking on a new educational experience.
When children start their day on the right track with nutritious food, they are alert and ready to concentrate at school. As school begins for another year, what better time to help children learn healthy eating habits?
Children need food to fuel their bodies and their brains. The reality is that many children in Canada are not getting the proper nutrition they need. In Canada 31% of elementary and 62% of secondary school students receive a failing grade when it comes to eating a nutritious breakfast on a daily basis. Studies have shown that Chatham-Kent has the lowest consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in Ontario and we are trying to turn this trend around in our youth.
On October 22nd, students all across South Western Ontario will be given the opportunity to take a bite out of that statistic through the Big Crunch Event.
Apples will be delivered to schools so every student can enjoy a crisp bite of local nutrition.
They will learn about how nutritious and tasty an apple can be; the history of the apple and even some of the sumptuous recipes they can make with apples.
Here in Chatham-Kent we have 50 Student Nutrition Clubs in which over 6500 children and youth learn, not only good nutrition, but also social skills from approximately 450 volunteers.
50% of our helpers are seniors who still enjoy getting up in the morning and interacting with a younger generation and providing not only a good start to the day but also a willing ear to listen to the children’s news of the day.
What better way to make a difference, not only in a child’s day but also in our world.
Volunteers not only manage the program in each school, they also raise the dollars to purchase the groceries to nourish the children each day of the school year.
All of our snacks and meals must contain a fruit or a vegetable.
It costs the Program about $1.00 to serve a child a good healthy breakfast [3 foods from the four food groups] and $ .75 for a good nutrition snack [2 foods from the four food groups in Canada’s Food Guide].
In order to make the program accessible to all children we do not charge a fee but are able to fund the program from dollars received from the Ministry of Child and Youth, Breakfast for Learning, Breakfast Clubs of Canada and the generosity of local businesses and organizations like the United Way of Chatham-Kent, Making Children Better Now as well as caring individuals.
The final portion of our funds comes from contributions from the parents.
A little can do so much.
Teachers, parents and children tell us how much this program means to them. “It truly takes a village to raise a child”.
We need to rally around our children and their families to support good eating so that the children can make the most of their educational opportunities.
In order to teach the children to ‘EAT RIGHT AND BE BRIGHT’ we need volunteers and dollars to empower our children to become the best that they can be.
