Students at Innisfail Jr./Sr. High School don't always get a healthy breakfast and teachers Lorraine Dingman and Brianne Fletcher are doing something about it.
“Out of a school population of around 450 students, we estimate that up to 200 kids don't get a proper breakfast,” said Fletcher, the school's home economics teacher. “Some time ago, our school secretary Anna Allen started to bring food she would prepare at home and leave it on the desk for kids. Now she has a budget to do that and often brings wraps, sandwiches, fruit, and vegetables but that is not enough.”
Dingman and Fletcher plan to start a program in the next school year that will provide bagged lunches with Canada Food Guide recommended items such as granola bars, fruit, proteins and healthy snacks. They have been working with Harrison Blizzard, a public health dietitian, to develop the program.
“As teachers, we have noticed that there is a difference in behaviours in kids who do not eat a breakfast such as attention span, learning abilities, and energy levels,” added Fletcher. “We want to give them proper nutrition so they can learn more effectively.”
Fletcher plans to run the program out of her home classroom and utilize students to put the bags together and cook special meals such as waffles, hot cereal and other items. Students will be able to use this experience for work credits as well.
The breakfast program will work within a set of guiding principles to ensure healthy meals are available to all children, said Fletcher.
“Our biggest hurdle is funding at present,” she said. “We know there are some grants available and we can buy through the cafeteria supplier at cost, which will help. We are looking for sponsors to help us with the program. It will cost around a dollar per breakfast bag or around $2,000 per month for the program.”
“We want to make sure our students are set up for success,” she added. “Providing a healthy breakfast is just one tool we can use.”
Interested Innisfail and area businesses or individuals can contact Fletcher or Dingman at 403-227-3244 if they want to be part of the program.
