Several schools in the east-central region are set to benefit from new funding aimed at strengthening school food programs across Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) announced that 15 community-based organizations will share $1 million in federal funding through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s School Food Infrastructure Fund.
The one-time investment is part of a provincewide project called Expanding school food infrastructure in Saskatchewan: Ensuring equitable reach.
Locally, The Soup Haven Lunch Program Inc. in Yorkton received $80,234 to purchase a new cargo van to deliver lunches to the schools, to pick up supplies and to ensure the program can continue.
The Fort Qu’Appelle Community Outreach Management Corp. received $35,910 to improve access to nutritious, culturally appropriate meals for students by expanding local food processing and storage capacity.
“We are excited that we have been able to secure this investment to help support our overall school food programming goals,” said Dr. Shawn Davidson, president of the SSBA. “We were pleased to see strong engagement across the province from organizations working in partnership with school divisions to support our children and youth.”
In total, recipients are partnered with 18 school divisions across the province: Chinook, Christ the Teacher, Creighton, Good Spirit, Holy Trinity, Ile-a-la Crosse, Living Sky, Northwest, North East, Prairie South, Prairie Spirit, Prairie Valley, Prince Albert Catholic, Regina Catholic, Regina Public, Saskatchewan Rivers, Saskatoon Catholic, and Saskatoon Public and one First Nations school.
The funded projects support objectives related to increasing the capacity of organizations to provide or upgrade food preparation spaces, storage, equipment, and transportation/delivery that improve the food environments within schools and strengthen community food security.
“An important focus for locally elected school boards is supporting school food programming,” Davidson added. “We know this can reduce known barriers to learning, attendance, and school success.”
The SSBA says it will continue working with local divisions and community organizations to ensure the investments strengthen school-based food programs and help students across Saskatchewan access healthy meals.
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