Local campaign to feed kids during COVID-19 pandemic

Apr 3, 2020 | 12:00 PM

A local grocer is participating in a campaign aimed at giving kids easier access to school meal supports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Save-On-Foods, part of the Jim Pattison Group, has committed $500,000 toward a $1 million fundraising goal. The money will be donated to Breakfast Club of Canada, which in turn will distribute funding and support to schools, community organizations, and other partners mobilized to get good food supports to kids as quickly and efficiently as possible. More than 35 schools and organizations in Saskatchewan have applied for the Club’s special grant so far. More than 20 are from Indigenous communities. A spokesperson for the Breakfast Club of Canada told paNOW, all children in the program will be provided with a nutritious bagged breakfast every morning, including weekends, during the pandemic.

According to a media release issued by Save-On-Foods and campaign partners, an estimated one in five school-aged kids in Canada rely on school-based nutrition programs. But because of closures due to the pandemic many of those kids are unsure where their next meal will come from.

Customers can donate $2 or 500 More Rewards points at the till of any Save-On-Foods, PriceSmart or Urban Fare store and the company will match up to a total of $500,000. All of the money raised stays local.

“We know that kids need nutritious meals and we are absolutely committed to helping these organizations continue their critical mission despite school closures. The work our community partners do to feed young Canadians is so important,” said Save-On-Foods President Darrell Jones. “We are grateful to Breakfast Club of Canada and our other partners who have joined forces with us to support our schools and students. I know our customers share our commitment to our communities and will blow us away with their generosity.”