highschoolinitiative
Because graduating into high school does not necessarily mean leaving hungry weekends behind.
High school Initiative
IMPACTFUL ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES OF TEENS IN NEED
Established in 2012, Food4Kids Hamilton now has students that have moved on from elementary to high school.
Graduating into high school does not mean they are no longer living in poverty, and experiencing hunger.
We piloted a program in 2018 with two Hamilton high schools. Referred by office and teaching staff, students considered the most impoverished received a package of food for the weekend.
The impacts were astounding. Of the 60 student participants, each shared stories of how food access from Food4Kids impacted their lives.
One student explained his mother, who was in her final stages of cancer, could not afford to feed the children. This 16 year old was responsible for food shopping and feeding her two younger siblings. When food was scarce, her mother went without.
There are currently over 170 students in the 2021-2022 school year high school program. Food4Kids Hamilton currently facilitates a high school program in Bernie Custis Secondary, Cathedral Secondary, Glendale Secondary, Nora Francis Henderson Secondary, St. Jean de Brebeuf Secondary, St. Thomas More Secondary, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary, Waterdown District Secondary, Westdale Secondary and Wilma's Place.
Click here to learn more about how the high school program was initiated and how the program is discreetly carried through.
impactful assistance
Graduating into high school does not mean students are no longer living in poverty, and experiencing hunger.
"In order for students to be successful, first they need their basic needs met"
00:25
In order for students to feel successful, they need their basic needs to be met...
01:05
They arrive to school late perhaps… headaches… stomach aches… Yes, sometimes these physical signs can often be misinterpreted by the teacher or their peers as just behaviour issues.
01:59
...Food4Kids Hamilton has really helped to fill the gap of that weekend time.
03:10
Because we know there is a lot more need than we’re servicing right now...
significant statistics
TEN
175
meaningful insights
MARK DALY,
SCHOOL
PRINCIPAL
Without adequate nutrition students cannot perform to the best of their abilities.
GARY WATSON,
STUDENT SUCCESS TEACHER
Without food they are not getting to what they need to do.
LORI VASSARRO,
GUIDANCE
COUNSELLOR
In order for kids to feel successful, they need their basic needs met.
