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Healthy eating and learning go hand in hand, that’s why Okanagan schools are offering kids free breakfast and lunch options.
Out of the 43 schools in the Central Okanagan, 21 of them have free universally accessible breakfast and lunch programs.
Students who don’t have enough food at home or forgot their breakfast or lunch can now arrive at school and get free food.
"Meeting basic needs of students is critical for them to be ready to learn. If you're hungry, it's hard to focus on learning,” explained Kevin Kaardal, Superintendent of Schools.
“If they have a healthy breakfast that starts off the day, that helps their learning and helps us be more successful as a district."
Students who haven’t eaten breakfast can arrive at school around 7:30 a.m. and head into the room where the breakfast school program is offered. They will meet volunteers and teachers who will help make them a healthy breakfast.
Options include fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins, brown bread and yogurts.
Kaardal said only 54 per cent of students report always eating breakfast and one in five students are below the poverty line in Canada. Within the Central Okanagan, 18 per cent live in low-income families.
Every day at breakfast time, more than 1,000 students take part in the program.
When it comes to lunches, students who don’t have a meal can pick up a free brown paper bag lunch. Kaardal said around 1,000 students grab a free lunch in the Okanagan every day.
"The goal is if you're hungry it's hard to learn and if you have the right nutrition, the brain works better and the kids become more effective learners and that's what we're all about," Kaardal said.
The schools that have a breakfast and lunch program are funded locally and provincially. The schools also receive donations of food from local farmers and residents. Kaarsal said it’s amazing how supportive the community is.
"It just speaks to the strength of the community. They seem to really care about the young people in the community and in our school district. We're so blessed to have the partners that are supporting the students."
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