The school year is wrapping up soon, which also means the free breakfast program for School Fuel is getting ready to finish another succesful year. This school year they played a huge role in helping students get their day started off right, as they provided more than 56 000 breakfasts to schools all across our community.
School Fuel Coordinator Brandi Bobee explained their program offers a free muffin, cheese string or yogurt tube, and apple slices to any student every day. Barring the Catholic schools, they partner with all the schools in Strathmore and deliver these breakfasts for students to easily pick up if needed.
"It's just really important to us that kids have full bellies because they just learn better and behave better with full bellies," she said.
There are no criteria for who can or can't receive breakfast, as Bobee said School Fuel doesn't want to exclude anyone. Simply put, if you want a quick meal you'll get one, no questions asked.
"There's kids who need it because they don't get breakfast at home, but there's also kids who get on a bus early and are hungry by the time they get to school or don't feel like eating when they get up in the morning," she said.
School Fuel doesn't work without all of its committed volunteers, as Bobee highlighted how much work and coordination it takes and how grateful she is to all the community members who help out. Whether it's helping the team bake muffins and prepare the meals, delivery drivers, dishwashers, shoppers, and more, Bobee said every single volunteer's contribution is an essential part of making sure they can help kids get a nice breakfast.
"We have people from our church (Hope Community Covenant Church), people from the community, grandparents, teachers, like all walks of life that help with this program from everywhere in Strathmore. It's amazing we get that kind of involvement."
"It's really important that we thank all the people, volunteers, donors, supporters who can make this happen, we couldn't do it without them."
Beyond the committed volunteers, the program also cost around $25 000, but that funding comes from Breakfast Club of Canada, as well as donations from community partners and schools.
If you're interested in supporting School Fuel by either volunteering or donating, Bobee said you can contact her at schoolfuel@hope-community.ca, or phone Hope Community Covenant Church at 403-934-2424.
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Sun, May 5, 2:00 PM
