Submitted by Ellen Tzakis on behalf of Save on Foods Creston
Save On Foods in Creston promoted Toonies for Tummies January 26 - February 6, 2019. This is the second year that Save On Foods in Creston has promoted Toonies for Tummies. In 2018 Save on Foods raised around $1,000.00, but this year we set a new record for our community school. The gift cards will be given in September 2019 for the new school.
The Canyon-Lister Elementary School feeds breakfast to 225 children per week. The menu is different each day and varies from pancakes and fruit, eggs toast, smoothies to English crumpet breakfast pizzas. The area where the breakfast is served serves as a social, community area where everyone visits and has their breakfast. Some children travel up to an hour to get to school in the mornings.
While Toonies for Tummies is fairly new to our stores and to the west, the concept of giving back to communities is not; it’s ingrained in our culture and so evident the many communities we serve. We’re excited to be the first western retailer to support this vital campaign and nourish the futures of the tens of thousands of children who stand to benefit.
The Grocery Foundation’s Toonies for Tummies Campaign is hoping to raise $1 Million to provide nutritious meals to 1.1Million children. Nearly 600 stores in Western Canada and Ontario are collecting donations from January to March 2019. 100% of funds collected will remain in local communities.
Canadian study of students and student nutrition program found 78 per cent of those who ate breakfast most days were on tract to graduate compared to 61 percent who ate breakfast sporadically, or not at all. These findings reinforce the results of a 2014 survey of just over 1,500 Canadians fielded by Leger on behalf of The Grocery Foundation. It found that nearly 80 percent of Canadians believe Canada’s ability to feed its hungry children is directly tied to the future prosperity of our country. The same survey also confirmed that as many Canadians believe that children in their community are going without breakfast. It appears they are right on both fronts. The study currently estimated that one in five children do not have access to proper nutrition. The impact is immediate and lasting. Besides the negative impact on grades, going to school hungry is linked to a host of learning disabilities and cognitive impairments, and can lead to chronic illness, such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease later in life, as well as depression, poor self-esteem, and anxiety. The Foundation has raised more than $18 million through Toonies for Tummies alone and $88 million over the past 4 decades.