OUR BIG WHY

A 10-year-old boy waited outside the locked doors of a school breakfast program. The program was to start at 8:15 and the child stood outside at 7:15 in the dark, in the cold and alone. He explained he had not had any food on the weekend and was hungry. Could he please have some food? This child inspired the launch of the Food4Kids program.

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The reality of child hunger became clear through this experience. A steering committee was formed in November 2011 to determine the need and scope of developing a weekend feeding program for at-risk children within Hamilton and Halton. 

A program model was developed with a focus on 3 distinct areas:

1. Food provided in food packages would be healthy

2. Each child in the home would receive their own food package, to ensure nourishment of all children in the home

3. To ensure a non-stigmatizing process to distribute food packages to participants 

We currently facilitate programs in 66 Hamilton elementary schools and 5 Hamilton high schools. Each week, these schools receive 1,300 packages of healthy food to distribute to children enrolled in the program.