Heather Latter
Robert Moore School council members, along with help from the local Kiwanis Club, are planning a spaghetti dinner Oct. 25 to help fund the popular breakfast program that has been running there since 2005.
The program, which is available to all 470 students in the school, sees trays of food delivered to classrooms each morning to ensure all children begin their school day with food in their stomachs.
“A surprising amount of students come to school each day without having eaten breakfast,” noted Toey Bone, a parent and volunteer with the breakfast program.
“Some just might have had a busy morning and didn’t have time; for others there are financial barriers,” she noted.
“And some children are on the bus so early that even though they’ve had breakfast, they are hungry again by the time they arrive at school.
“For all these reasons, we know it is important to keep this program going,” Bone stressed.
However, funding the program—which costs about $500 a week to run—is becoming increasingly difficult.
The program currently is being supported by the local Kiwanis Club, Family and Children’s Services Union, and donations, but it is waiting on some grant funding to be approved.
As such, organizers are looking for ways to raise some funds for the program, which is why they decided to hold a spaghetti dinner.
The event will be held in the Robert Moore School gym and run from 5:30-7 p.m.
The cost is $5/plate.
“We want it to be affordable for families and we hope lots of people come out,” said Bone, noting parents of children at the school are encouraged to attend, as well as members of the public.
“It’s open to anybody and everybody,” she stressed.
They also plan to have a penny table on hand and currently are seeking donations for that.
In addition, they will be running the cake roulette at the upcoming “Chili Cook-Off” on Oct. 24 as another fundraiser, so they also will be looking for donations of cakes.
But Bone noted funding the breakfast program isn’t the only challenge—they also need volunteers to keep it going.
“If every parent volunteered one day a year, we would have it covered,” she noted, citing only a handful of dedicated people are offering assistance.
“It’s not a huge commitment,” reasoned volunteer and Kiwanis member Karla Rogozinski, noting she arrives around 8 a.m. to help and the trays are delivered by 8:20 a.m.
Preparing the trays consists of doling out the food, such as bananas and yogurt, and preparing and cutting items like bagels.
“It doesn’t take long,” she said.
Several students help deliver the trays when they arrive at school.
“The kids love to help,” Bone enthused, noting it encourages volunteerism.
And they are rewarded for they assistance by being able to enter their names in a draw for prizes such as games and movies.
Bone also is hoping to challenge some businesses to get on board to help with the breakfast program, either with volunteering or even to help bake muffins or sort through produce.
“It’s a very worthy program,” she stressed. “When the students don’t have it, they really miss it.”
For example, no volunteers arrived to prepare the breakfast trays last Tuesday and the
students asked about it.
“It’s really too bad—we don’t like to see that happen,” Bone said.
“It is proven that breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” noted Rogozinski, adding it affects school grades, behaviours, and attention spans.
“The teachers have certainly noticed a difference,” echoed Bone, noting the trays always include three of the four food groups.
Bone added it’s important to note that all students are able to help themselves from the breakfast trays.
“While teachers are aware of which students may need to be first in line, it is for everybody,” she stressed.
“Kids don’t need to be embarrassed. We make sure there is no stigma attached.”
And since all the food is healthy, Bone said it helps introduce the students to some foods they have never tried before.
She indicated one teacher had mentioned a student was able to try an orange for the first time through the breakfast program.
“It costs more to eat healthy but it’s something we have to keep going,” Bone reasoned.
Anyone who is able to donate to the program or upcoming spaghetti dinner, or who is willing to help out with the breakfast program, is asked to call the school at 274-9818.
