May 31, 2023
Discussing Food Insecurity on YourTV’s Limestone Lens
May 26, 2023
The Food Sharing Project’s Executive Director, Andy Mills, was interviewed on YourTV by Donna Chambers, host of Limestone Lens, about food insecurity and the work that the organization does in the community to ensure that every student has access to nutritious food at school, every day. Watch the video here:
April 6, 2023
March 28, 2023
Disappointment is the word that comes to mind when we, at The Food Sharing Project, think of the lack of support for a national school food program in the federal budget released on March 28, 2023. School nutrition programs exist in every Canadian province and territory and the government had an opportunity to build on the amazing work of non-profits and volunteers to make a long-term investment in the health and well-being of our children. Enhancing existing programs with federal money will ensure that every Canadian child has at least one good meal a day, allowing them to take advantage of everything school has to offer.
Research and educators tell us that when children can access nutritious food at school, they are more engaged in their learning, can focus better on tasks and can have more positive social interactions throughout the day. In addition, the fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein they enjoy at school, helps to build healthy eating habits as adults. Healthy children save healthcare dollars and grow up to make meaningful contributions to their communities.
One in nine families in the city of Kingston and the counties of Frontenac and Lennox and Addington, experience food insecurity. When we provide nutritious food for their children at school, they can pay rent, or put gas in the car to get to work. Between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and grocery store prices which continue to sky-rocket, families are more than just struggling; they are rapidly falling behind. In their attempts to meet unrelenting need, organizations which fund school nutrition programs are also falling behind and many are facing the reality of running out of money before the end of this school year.
Over the next year, we will step up our efforts to advocate for the essential support our children need. We will build on conversations already started and we are hopeful that Canadian families will see an investment in the future with funding for a national school food program in the 2024 federal budget.
Sincerely,
Brenda Moore
Chair, Board of Directors, The Food Sharing Project
April 3, 2023, Kingston, Ontario
March 10, 2023
Local restaurants support nutrition
month campaign to feed hungry students.
March 8, 2023. Kingston, ON – For the month of March, a group of over 20 local restaurants and three hotels are encouraging their customers to consider making a donation to The Food Sharing Project, the local charity that provides nutritious food to school meal programs. Partner restaurants are placing Care 2 Share? donation cards on their tables or counters that include information about the need and a QR code to make a donation.
“The demand for food in schools has risen dramatically over the past few years,” says Andy Mills, Executive Director of The Food Sharing Project. “Along with increasing food prices, we will spend almost $200,000 more this year, to provide schools with the food they need for breakfast, lunch and snack programs.”
The Food Sharing Project sources healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, that are delivered to schools at no cost. Volunteers pack 450 boxes, or 5 tons, of food every week that is delivered to all 88 schools in Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington – a value that exceeds $25,000 each and every week of the school year. Schools use this food to provide healthy meals and snacks for any student who needs nutrition, no questions asked.
“School Coordinators are telling us that the kids are so hungry. There are so many families working hard to make ends meet and the skyrocketing prices at the grocery store are making that very challenging. We needed to come up with a fundraiser to make sure we are able to support students through to the end of the school year,” says Brenda Moore, Chair of the Board of The Food Sharing Project.
“Students will do better at school when they don’t have to worry about being hungry,” adds Moore, a retired Principal. “I’ve heard students say the food at school is the best food they have all day. A graduating student told us that he would’ve had to quit school and get a job to help his family, if it wasn’t for the healthy food at school for him and his siblings.”
The Food Sharing Project reached out to local restaurants to see if they would promote a fundraising campaign. As March is recognized as Nutrition Month across Canada, it made sense to align the restaurant-based campaign with the month of March.
“We are happy to help raise awareness and funds for The Food Sharing Project,” says Zoe Yanovsky, owner of Chez Piggy and Pan Chancho. “The tabletop cards give our customers a chance to learn about the need and make a donation at their discretion. It’s a great opportunity for the community to support kids across KFL&A.”
“Our food service and hospitality community in Kingston and area is so generous in so many ways,” adds Moore. “We didn’t want to ask owners or staff to take on a lot of work for this campaign. The tabletop cards are just there, and guests can read them and choose to scan the QR code to make a donation.”
The Care 2 Share? campaign launched March 8, and runs until the end of March, 2023, at the following restaurants (and other businesses):
“We are happy to add more restaurants to the list, so please reach out to us to support this much needed fundraiser,” adds Moore. The Food Sharing Project can be reached at 613-530-3514 or info@foodsharingproject.org.
To learn more about The Food Sharing Project, please visit: www.foodsharingproject.org
June 8, 2022
According to Andy Mills, Executive Director of The Food Sharing Project, the volume of healthy food being ordered by area schools has risen dramatically over the past two years: “We’ve seen the demand for increase by 30 to 40% at many schools, while school staff who coordinate meal and snack programs have no additional time to expand those programs.”
The Food Sharing Project sources healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, that are delivered to schools at no cost, to supply their student nutrition programs. But especially with COVID-19 restrictions, much of the food being provided has switched to items that are in pre-packaged individual portions. School staff who organize in-school student nutrition programs simply don’t have the time to prepare an increasing variety of healthy options.
“We wanted to explore the concept of providing pre-made, nutritious meals, like sandwiches or wraps, that would be a nutritionally substantial meal for students, and easy for school staff to serve without having to spend time preparing them.”
The Food Sharing Project partnered with Great Lakes Kitchen, an initiative of VOCEC, to prepare meals. VOCEC is an agency of Providence Hospital which employs adults living with mental illness in a variety of jobs, including Great Lakes Kitchen which provides food items to several hospitality sites throughout Kingston.
Before committing to a full-scale operation, The Food Sharing Project wanted to run a pilot project. That is where the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area stepped in to help. “We knew there would be an additional cost to purchasing prepared foods, as well as other materials needed to test it out, so we applied for a grant from the Community Foundation.”
The Food Sharing Project received a grant of $10,212 in April 2022 to cover the anticipated additional costs for prepared foods, as well as the purchase of insulated cooler bags to keep food at a safe temperature as it traveled from Great Lakes Kitchen to The Food Sharing Project’s warehouse and on to the pilot schools.
Initially six schools received Chicken Ranch Wraps in April. The pilot project was expanded to twelve schools of various sizes and types across KFL&A, and the menu increased to include a Hummus and Veggie Wrap and a Southwestern Pasta Salad. All meals meet the strict Provincial criteria required of student nutrition programs.
An early survey showed a positive response from both school staff and students: Students ranked the flavour and freshness at 4.6 out of 5, and school coordinators unanimously agreed that being able to offer prepared foods made their job easier. They all indicated they would
continue to order other prepared foods as more items were added.
Some comments from coordinators included “This is truly a wonderful program.” (Clarendon Central PS, Plevna), “The kids are enjoying the wraps. They have been a hit!” (Land O’Lakes PS, Mountain Grove) and “They are a hit at our school students really enjoy them.” (Molly Brant ES, Kingston)
“As the school year wraps up, we will be conducting another survey of schools and students. Then we will spend time in the summer analyzing the prepared food pilot project.” The analysis will look at logistics, cost, efficiency, as well as flavour, freshness and other food options.
“But to get to this point, it was important to have the support of the Community Foundation. It meant that we didn’t have to take money from our existing food budget to test out something new.”
“In the immediate term, it allowed us to offer healthy meals to students, and support school staff, with the added benefit of generating employment for the workers at Great Lakes Kitchen. In the longer term, it has given us the opportunity to test an idea without risk.”
About The Food Sharing Project
The Food Sharing Project is a local charity and partner of Student Nutrition Ontario, which delivers 5 tonnes of healthy food – about $20,000 in value – each week to over 80 schools across Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington. For more information, please visit: www.foodsharingproject.org
About the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area
The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area strengthens our community by connecting the generosity of donors with the energy and ideas of people and charities addressing local community needs. Together, we’ve been making meaningful and lasting impacts in our community since 1995. To learn more, please visit: www.cfka.org
December 16, 2021
In partnership with Lionhearts and Rotary in Kingston, The Food Sharing Project is helping to support families of students who are struggling by providing weekend food support with a bi-weekly food box. Students already have access to healthy snacks and meals at school thanks to food provided by The Food Sharing Project and organized by a school coordinator. But some students’ families find it difficult to provide healthy food on the weekend at home, especially with the rapidly rising costs of food, plus paying for rent, utilities and gas in the car to get to work.
Volunteers from all three organizations will pack food boxes and deliver them directly to the homes of families who are referred to the program by their school contact. Food boxes will include fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, bread, cheese and other food, intended to offer breakfast and lunch support for the weekends.
The Food Sharing Project would like to acknowledge funding of $45,000 from the Province of Ontario that is being used to purchase food for the new weekend food support program.
Discussing Food Insecurity on YourTV’s Limestone Lens May 26, 2023 The Food Sharing Project’s Executive Director, Andy Mills, was interviewed on YourTV by Donna Chambers, host of Limestone Lens, about food […]
Read More
March 28, 2023 Disappointment is the word that comes to mind when we, at The Food Sharing Project, think of the lack of support for a national school food program […]
Read More
Local restaurants support nutrition month campaign to feed hungry students. March 8, 2023. Kingston, ON – For the month of March, a group of over 20 local restaurants and […]
Read More