Each day, about 120 students gather at Midale Central School before the start of the school day for breakfast, as part of the school’s breakfast program.
It’s only been around for approximately three months, but already the school has seen some big differences in its students.
Cathy Harvey, who is in her fifth year as the school’s principal, said the program started because the school’s staff noticed there were students who showed up to school without the benefit of having breakfast. Those who did might not have had a nutritional breakfast.
“We needed to figure out a plan to help deal with that,” she said. “Some of the reasons they weren’t are they’re on the bus really early, or they just don’t have the financial means or the access to grocery stores that could provide fruits and vegetables or healthy alternatives for breakfast.”
It was affecting behaviour and academic results at the school, so the staff sought out a grant, and they applied through the Breakfast Clubs of Canada program.
Midale applied for the grant for several years, but wasn’t successful. Once they were accepted, they were able to launch the program.
“We have had a lot of support and positive feedback for the program. It’s probably been, since I’ve been in Midale, one of the programs that I’ve seen the most success and the most positive feedback from the community.”
Not only are they getting positive feedback, but students are enjoying it.
When students attend school on an empty stomach, their energy levels, problem solving skills, creativity, concentration and behavior are negatively impacted, she said.
Between 100 and 120 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 attend each day; some pre-kindergarten students are also present. For a school with 170 students, that means about two-thirds of the students are showing up for breakfast.
“When we put the grant proposal forward, we thought maybe we’d have around 80 students, and we have way more than that. So obviously the need that we saw was greater than we thought,” she said.
They have older students volunteering and running the program, and parents agreeing to bake and shop for groceries. Individuals and businesses have stepped forward to help, and community members help with the food preparation as well.
The student volunteers show up between 7:45 and 8 a.m., and set everything out and prepare for the students who are coming in for breakfast. Then they serve, clean up and prepare for the next day, all under the direction of instructor Shelly McKenzie.
They also earn a commercial cooking credit for their involvement.
“From a school perspective, when our kids have great things going into their systems in the morning, we’re noticing a reduction in behaviour and more academic success, and an increase in our mental health and well-being,” said Harvey.
The breakfast club has also resulted in a lot of good conversations and interactions between students and staff.
“If there is someone who is feeling a little sad, or needs a little bit of extra attention, it’s really easy to pick up on that right away in the morning,” she said.
Each day the students have a couple of different choices of cereal, as well as toast, muffins and banana bread. There will also be fruits and vegetables, and milk, juice and yogurt.
“They have special days when they have eggs and pancakes, and then they have waffles. They’ve done French toast. They’ve done apple crisp.”
In addition to supplying food to the children, the school is trying to increase their taste pallets.
“We’re really lucky to have a teacher in there that has a lot of expertise and knowledge in cooking and food choices, and so she has been able to do some really cool things, and kids have discovered they like things they didn’t think they liked,” said Harvey.
The grant from the Breakfast Clubs of Canada allows Midale Central School to cover a portion of the costs of the breakfast program. The donations from the community and individuals, combined with fundraising, allow the school to run the program and meet the costs.
Midale has talked a lot with Hillcrest School, which has had a breakfast program of their own since September 2011. But Midale is eager to talk about the breakfast program, as it is a source of pride for the community and the school.
The students are happy to wake up each morning and have breakfast with their peers, the older students are pleased that they have the opportunity to volunteer, despite the time commitment, and the staff has noticed the positives each day as well.
Anyone who is interested in supporting the program is asked to contact Midale Central School.
