Food4Kids Waterloo Region
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Mission Statement
Food4Kids Waterloo Region provides healthy food packages to children ages 1-14 from severely food insecure homes during weekends and school breaks, when kids are not in school and unable to access school nutrition programs.
About This Cause
Together with our community, Food4Kids Waterloo Region’s mission is to provide packages of nutritious, healthy food to children ages 1-14 living with chronic hunger from severely food insecure homes throughout Waterloo Region. We provide food to children in need when they are not in school, which is 40 weekends of the school year and 90 days of school breaks. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, we deliver food directly to the children, by inserting highly nutritious food packages into backpacks at school before the child goes home for the weekend or delivering food boxes directly to their homes during school breaks. We currently support 1,200 children living with severe food insecurity who are referred to us by teachers and social workers in schools who see vulnerable children coming to school hungry and without daily food. We serve children of all backgrounds and cultures, including new Canadians, Indigenous People, and Black or Persons of Colour. We are one of the few local organizations that provide food that meets cultural requirements (ie. Halal), and dietary and allergy restrictions. The Need: Food4Kids Waterloo Region is currently serving 110 of 151 elementary schools in the Region of Waterloo. We need funding to support current children and add more children in need from the remaining 61 schools. Many children successfully leave our program as they no longer need it but are continually replaced by needy children. Many children do not have access to the nourishment they require to thrive mentally, physically, or socially. School nutrition programs help during the school year but are not available during weekends and school breaks. Often children living with chronic hunger do not have a parent or guardian in their life who can help them access food banks when school is out, or the parent or guardian themselves cannot access the food bank due to hours or location, or sometimes the food received is just not enough. Consistent hunger, even just over weekends and school breaks, can set a child back for life. These are the children we serve. Weekend program: The Weekend Program is facilitated by volunteers, as well as school staff, teachers, and principals who ensure that children receive the food packages, without stigma. Each week, our volunteers pack and distribute food packages that are delivered to participating schools. Plain plastic bags are filled with healthy food items and placed in the child’s backpack on Friday before the child leaves for home for the weekend. These packages provide enough food to sustain and nourish the children until they are back at school on Monday morning. School Break program: When students leave school for the summer, winter and spring breaks, many of them will tell their teachers that they don’t want to be away from school because they know that while they are at school they won’t go hungry. Our School Break Program (which includes our Summer Break program) provides daily food to children who need it during the two weeks of the Winter Break, the one week of Spring Break, and the nine weeks of Summer Break. In all of our School Break programs, the food is delivered directly to the family home by pairs of volunteers instead of our usual distribution through schools. Impact A young mother with two children signed up for support, through the school. The family was without food. When her son opened a bag we delivered to them, he whispered, "Mom. Look! Milk." She broke down sobbing. Children, living with chronic hunger don't choose when they will be hungry. It is always. We are never prepared for the heart-wrenching reactions of the parents or the joy of the children we serve.