SD 72 Expands School Food Programs

SD72 has provided an update on their school food programs in support of the provincial Feeding Futures initiative.

School districts have been tasked with addressing the immediate needs of feeding students to improve academic achievement and overall health either by expanding existing food programs or creating new ones.

The programs must be sustainable long-term, build community connections and partnerships, and prioritize locally produced foods.

Programs must support a minimum of 20% more students, be delivered in a way that is stigma-free, flexible and respects student privacy, be more nutritional and, where possible, use BC grown or processed food.

The district received $780,000 in Feeding Futures funding and since last year, has concentrated on creating systems and infrastructure to support the food programs that were already happening to run more efficiently and expand the number of students that they serve.

That included creating centralized ordering and delivery systems with Superstore and a centralized ordering system for Costco orders.

Community partnerships have also been set up with Greenways Land Trust as part of their fruit tree picking program, local bakeries for the provision of day-old bread and buns, and the Campbell River Food Bank for a community pantry program where Robron and Cedar students can pick-up non-perishable food items.

The District explains that food coordinators have been set up at every elementary school in conjunction with their student supervisor roles, and youth care workers are supporting food programs at the middle and secondary schools.

The district has also bought an electric van with a refrigeration unit to support food deliveries and infrastructure improvements (such as installing dishwashers, stoves, and upgrading electrical systems to accommodate these appliances) are also being made to schools to better support food services.

After spring break last year, the district piloted the centralized ordering with two elementary schools and by the end of June every elementary school was taking part with the district supporting approximately 800 meals per day.

To learn more, visit SD72.