With one in 10 Canadian children going to school on an empty stomach every day, Breakfast Clubs of Canada, in partnership with Walmart Canada, hit the road on an eight-city cross-country tour to raise funds and awareness for school breakfast programs.
The Taste for Learning Tour aims to create awareness amongst Canadians of the benefits of school breakfast programs and to raise $2.5 million. Breakfast Clubs of Canada provides funding, equipment, food donations, management tools and support to school breakfast programs throughout Canada including Quesnel. This year, the goal is to support an additional 400 programs in urban and First Nations communities.
According to a recent Angus Reid survey, 78 per cent of Canadians believe having a healthy breakfast strongly improves a child’s ability to learn at school – and they’re right.
When children go to school hungry or poorly nourished, their energy level, memory, problem-solving skills, creativity, concentration and behaviour are all impacted negatively. As a result, these children may not reach their full developmental potential.
“Breakfast Clubs of Canada is committed to the cause of feeding our children’s and our country’s future.” president-founder of Breakfast Clubs of Canada and Quebec Breakfast Clubs Daniel Germain said.
“We believe every breakfast counts and by reaching our fundraising goal, we will continue to level the playing field by providing a nutritious start to the day for even more Canadian school children.”
The Taste for Learning Tour kicked off Feb. 4 on an eight-city tour, starting in St. John’s, Nfld. and will head west making stops in Fredericton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.
At each stop, the public is invited to drop by to receive one of the 20,000 breakfast bags filled with coupons for food products from corporate partners such as Saputo, Danone, Kellogg’s and Minute Maid.
From February 17 to March 17, Canadians are invited to show their support for the Breakfast Clubs of Canada by purchasing a $1 bookmark at Walmart Canada stores across the country.
Every bookmark sold equals
one nutritious breakfast for a child.
“Since 2005, Walmart Canada has been fuelling children’s success through its support of Breakfast Clubs of Canada,” president and CEO of Walmart Canada David Cheeswright said.
“Our partnership with Breakfast Clubs of Canada ensures that
kids have access to a nutritious meal every day before going to class. Together, with our customers and vendor partners, we are making a difference in the future of Canadian children, one loonie at a time.”
During this campaign, Walmart Canada customers can also support Breakfast Clubs of Canada by purchasing select
food products from Saputo, Danone, Kellogg’s and Minute Maid.
Canadians can also show their support by texting the word “BREAKFAST” to 4-5-6-7-8 to donate $5 which equals a week’s worth of breakfast for a child.
To learn more about Breakfast Clubs of Canada visit www.breakfastclubscanada.org.
