Harvest Manitoba expands weekend snack program in province

Thousands more children will get nutritious snacks to eat on weekends thanks to Harvest Manitoba.

Harvest’s Meals2Go program is expanding from its current size — helping 5,000 kindergarten-Grade 8 students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 — to assisting 7,000 each week at 21 schools in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson and Opaskwayak Cree Nation near The Pas.

Harvest executive director Vince Barletta said the program helps ensure no child goes hungry over the weekend.

“The province has determined students get food at schools during the week and we want to make sure they get healthy food on the weekend,” Barletta said Monday.

“It is exciting. We’re getting more food to more kids so that they are ready to study on Monday.”

The nutrition kits include milk, yogurt, fruit, cheese, granola bars and cereal.

“They are healthy, but they are also things which kids want to eat,” he said.

The program began in 2018 with 350 students at Mulvey School.

Faraday School in the Winnipeg School Division and O.V. Jewitt and Governor Semple Schools in the Seven Oaks School Division joined the program this year.

Two schools in the Thompson-area Mystery Lake School District will also begin taking part in the program in January.

Barletta said volunteers in Winnipeg pack the snack kits, which are then sent out to the local schools. He said bulk food is sent to the other communities for volunteers to pack for students.

Meanwhile, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas now that the Christmas Cheer Board of Winnipeg has kicked off its Holiday Smile Cookie campaign with Tim Hortons.

Shawna Bell, the cheer board’s executive director, said last year’s weeklong cookie campaign — the first — raised more than $76,000.

“That got a lot of hampers out into the community,” Bell said.

“We were able to send out just over 1,000 hampers for families with two or three members because of that.”

Last year, more than 21,000 hampers were delivered to Winnipeg homes.

The cookie campaign, from which 100 per cent of the proceeds go to the cheer board, continues at all Winnipeg Tims locations until Sunday.

As well, the cheer board website (www.christmascheerboard.ca) allows anyone interested to order two or more dozen cookies, which will be delivered free by volunteers.

Nearly two dozen Grade 5 students from St. Gerard School in St. Boniface packed some of the first cheer board food hampers this year.

Teacher Rita Cunningham said the children had a great time and were rewarded by decorating — and eating — their own smile cookie.

“They packaged 400 single (person) hampers,” Cunningham said.

“All I tell them ahead of time is we are going to do some community service, to help others, and to help packing hampers. One even asked me if they could come back Saturday and help and I told them they have to ask their mother to call.

“I’m sad for the need, but we are happy to help.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca