vanessa danon

Beet Hummus

Whether it’s the bright pink colour or the sweet taste, this hummus is sure to be a hit with kids of all ages. What’s more, it’s an excellent way of working some extra vegetable protein into your menu. The recipe was developed by our very own Rebecca Sly, a program coordinator here at Breakfast Club of Canada.  

 

Beet Hummus

 

Ingredients 

  • 5 oz. (150 g) cooked beetroot (approximately 2 medium-sized beets) 
  • 1 can (19 oz./540 ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
  • 2 cloves garlic 
  • 1 tbsp. (15 ml) lemon juice 
  • Salt and pepper to taste 
  • 3 tbsp. (45 ml) vegetable oil of your choosing 

 

Preparation 

  • Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.  

 

Ideal served with veggie sticks, but can also be spread over flatbread, regular bread or toast.  

vanessa danon

Gallo Pinto

Photo Credits: https://stripedspatula.com/gallo-pinto

Be sure to give this tastebud-tickling, tummy-warming rice-and-bean dish a whirl! Top up with extra veggies, depending on what’s in season and what you have on hand.  

 

Gallo Pinto 

Adapted from https://stripedspatula.com/gallo-pinto
 

Prep Time: 10 minutes 

Cooking Time: 15 minutes 

Yield: 8 to 10 servings 

 

Ingredients 

  • 2 tbsp. (30 ml) vegetable, olive or canola oil 
  • 1 red pepper, chopped 
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped 
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced 
  • 1 can (14 oz./398 ml) can black beans  
  • ¾ c. (180 ml) water  
  • ¼ c. (60 ml) Salsa Lizano* 
  • 3 c. (750 ml) cooked brown rice,** preferably day-old and refrigerated 
  • ¼ c. (60 ml) chopped fresh cilantro 

* Salsa Lizano (Lizano sauce) is a Costa Rican condiment that can be found in many specialty grocery stores. It gives a wonderful flavour to this dish, but if you can’t find any, try this instead: 

  • 2 tbsp. (30 ml) Worcestershire or HP sauce
    OR 
  • 3 tbsp. (45 ml) soy sauce + 1 tbsp. (15 ml) maple syrup  

**Check the yield on the packaging. As a rule of thumb, 1 cup of uncooked brown rice makes 3 cups of cooked rice.  

.  

 

Preparation 

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sauté chopped pepper and onions until peppers are soft and onions are translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.  
  2. Add black beans, water and Salsa Lizano, stirring to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened and a little bit of the liquid has evaporated. Gently stir in cooked rice, and cook until heated through and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 3 to 5 minutes. 
  3. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season to taste with additional Salsa Lizano, if desired, and serve. 

Photo Credits: https://stripedspatula.com/gallo-pinto

vanessa danon
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Back-to-School Open Houses: Relationship Building Among Schools

In early fall, we hosted seven Open House sessions across Canada.

These sessions were an opportunity for schools to connect with the Club and other schools in their region. Participants were able to share current plans, exchange ideas and offer support to one another. Three main topics were covered: menu planning, budgeting and food preparation, and community partnerships.  

 

Menu planning 

There were many challenges shared, ranging from equipment capacity and volunteer recruitment within the school community to strategies for preparing a variety of meals to suit students’ preferences. However, along with these came many innovative solutions: 

  • Grab-and-go model: Schools had great ideas to share about how they changed to a grab-and-go model to increase accessibility for students. This model also cuts down on preparation time and lets schools plan menus more easily. Participants mentioned that a high number of volunteers and greater equipment capacity significantly increase program efficiency and capability. 
  • Reintroduction of hot and specialty items: Many schools have found great success in bringing back egg dishes. One school highlighted that egg bites are a popular hot item that can be used in the grab-and-go model.  
  • Popular menu items: In many schools, there are ongoing requests to vary the items offered. Bobbi from Food & Friends shared that they have a school that not only serves the regular breakfast staple foods, but also offers things like spaghetti, dumplings and other items for breakfast, noting that not everybody likes to eat traditional breakfast items in the morning. 
  • Some of the most popular items served are: 
  • Breakfast wraps and sandwiches 
  • Smoothies 
  • Baked oatmeal 
  • Bannock pops and bagels 
  • Pizza bagels 
  • Oatmeal bean cookies. 

See our Recipe Book for some unique and delicious recipes! 

 

 

Budgeting and food preparation 

In all of our sessions, schools raised concerns regarding rising inflation and the cost of food. Schools also discussed how they needed to tighten their budget and stretch it even further than previous years. Most of the schools present wanted to learn from the Club and other schools about budgeting tips. See our 2022 Toolkit for information and resources regarding the operation of your breakfast program. 

Schools highlighted the following ideas to help with budgeting and food preparation: 

  • Reducing food waste: A school in BC mentioned that they will not start making hot food until students are present in the breakfast room and confirm that they would like to have something to eat.  
  • Promoting environmental sustainability: Students can bring in their own cutlery and wash it at home to avoid single-use plastics and additional costs for utensils, etc.  
  • Rescuing food: One school mentioned their partnership with Second Harvest to gather additional produce for their program. Second Harvest is the largest food rescue organization in Canada. From farm to retail, they capture surplus food before it ends up in landfill, diverting it to organizations to use in their food preparation and distribution. 

  

Community partnerships 

At all of our sessions, we asked, “What partnerships or donations have you been able to leverage with local stores, organizations or community groups? How did these partnerships or these donations begin? How did you approach them?” We received a phenomenal amount of feedback! 

  • Fundraising: A rural school in Alberta entered into a partnership with the new gas station in town to hold fundraising activities. Students create handmade crafts to sell at the gas station to raise funds for their breakfast program. School-made muffins are also a popular fundraising item. 
  • Bakeries: One school in Alberta has a partnership with COBS Bread. Their donations are received once per week. They use the breads and buns for their breakfast program and share the surplus with other community schools in the area.  
  • Local restaurants and pubs: A school in British Columbia mentioned that they have a partnership with a local pub. A percentage of the sales from a designated “charity tap” goes toward supporting the school’s breakfast program. 
  • Transportation: A school in New Brunswick has teamed up with local transport trucking companies. If a pallet of food is turned away from a store, the companies will call the school to see if any of the items can be used in their breakfast program.  
  • Community and senior centres: A local senior centre prepares muffins for a school breakfast program. The school purchases the ingredients, delivers them to senior centre and picks up the products once they’re made.  

Partnerships like these can be a huge help in maximizing the potential of your breakfast program. They are also a great way to engage the local community. Let us know how we can help! 

 

The Open House sessions are a part of our dedication to providing personalized support to each program, in this case, by focusing on regional relationship-building among schools. We are already looking forward to our next sessions later in the year. 

vanessa danon

Costco and Breakfast Club of Canada blow the 20th candle of their partnership

Boucherville – December 20th, 2022 –

Breakfast Club of Canada just marked 20 years of partnership with Costco warehouses, one of its main and long trusted support. Over the last two decades, Costco has been making sure to bring awareness and contribute to the health and education of youth and contributed more than 18 million dollars towards the Club’s ultimate goal: breakfast for every child, every day.

“Breakfast Club of Canada is very fortunate to rely on dedicated partners like Costco who understand the importance of a healthy and nutritious breakfast for students” said Judith Barry, Co-Founder and Director, Government Relations at Breakfast Club of Canada. “With the major increase in the number of schools supported over the past two years and the significant impact that inflation is having on operations, the support of major partner is more important than ever.”

Costco warehouses and their associates showed their ongoing generosity by joining Breakfast Club of Canada’s annual back-to-school campaign for the 15th year in a row. After the 10 days campaign across the country and thanks to employee’s dedication, close to 1.4 million was raised highlighting the power of this partnership to make a real difference and ensure children can reach their full potential and can look forward to a brighter future.

“Every child in Canada should have access to a nutritious breakfast. Costco Canada is proud to partner with Breakfast Club of Canada to make this reality. Over the last 20 years, our employees and customers have supported this mission and we look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come” Gino Dorico, Senior Vice-President & General Manager at Costco.

About Breakfast Club of Canada

Since 1994, Breakfast Club of Canada has been working with partners from all sectors to help children access a nutritious breakfast and reach their full potential. Accredited by Imagine Canada for its effective governance and recognized by Aliments du Québec for its promotion of local food products, the Club helps reach more than 580,000 children in over 3,500 school nutrition programs across the country. The ultimate goal: breakfast for every child, every day. To learn more, visit breakfastclubcanada.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Costco

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts focus on programs supporting children’s initiatives, specifically in the areas of health, welfare and education, as well as to families in need in the communities where we do business. We are striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes.

 

Media Contact

For more information and to schedule interviews with Costco or Breakfast Club of Canada spokespeople, please contact:

Julie Hauville

Media Relations, Breakfast Club of Canada julie.hauville@breakfastclubcanada.org

vanessa danon

Walmart Canada raises record $4.5 million, helping Breakfast Club of Canada provide 9 million morning meals to children

Boucherville – December 14, 2022 – Breakfast Club of Canada is pleased to announce that Walmart Canada has raised a record $4.5 million in 2022, allowing the Club to provide 9 million* nutritious morning meals for children and students across Canada. Since 2003, Walmart Canada has worked with Breakfast Club of Canada, donating and raising more than $63 million to help reach more students every day.

This year’s fundraising activities contributed $4.5 million and included a $1 million corporate donation from Walmart Canada. Customers were invited to donate in-store and online and Walmart associates organized fundraising initiatives to support the Club’s activities to make sure children have an equal chance to learn.

Breakfast Club of Canada has been working tirelessly for the past 28 years and today reaches more than 580,000 children in over 3,500 school nutrition programs throughout Canada each morning. With inflation reducing the ability of individuals and households to afford essential expenses, the demand has increased for essential services provided by various organizations. More than ever, the Club’s operations rely on a dedicated network of partners, such as Walmart Canada to gather resources and bring the organization closer to a goal: breakfast for every child, every day.

“For two decades, Walmart Canada has been a major partner who understands the importance of the work we do to nurture children’s potential through breakfast programs,” highlighted Judith Barry Co-Founder & Government Relations Director. “Their continued commitment to reaching more children across the country and the annual fundraising campaign gives us the chance to reach a large audience and encourage millions of Canadians to support our cause. Breakfast Club of Canada is grateful for the support and the strong relationship built with Walmart over the years.”

“Together with Breakfast Club of Canada, we’ve been making great strides in fighting hunger and ensuring kids are fueled to learn with greater access to nutritious school meals,” said Rob Nicol, Vice President, Communications and Corporate Affairs at Walmart Canada. “We’re proud to partner with Breakfast Club of Canada and we would like to thank our associates and customers for a record-breaking year, for their overwhelming generosity and another fantastic campaign.”

*  The Club’s national contribution average is $0.50 per breakfast. For every dollar Walmart, its customers and associates raise, Breakfast Club of Canada can help provide two meals to children.

 

About Breakfast Club of Canada

Since 1994, Breakfast Club of Canada has been working with partners from all sectors to help children access a nutritious breakfast and reach their full potential. Accredited by Imagine Canada for its effective governance and recognized by Aliments du Québec for its promotion of local food products, the Club helps reach more than 580,000 children in over 3,500 school nutrition programs across the country. The ultimate goal: breakfast for every child, every day. To learn more, visit breakfastclubcanada.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

About Walmart Canada

Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada’s flagship online store, Walmart.ca is visited 1.5 million customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers and is ranked one of the country’s top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada was recently recognized as a LinkedIn Top Company of 2022 and was also named one of Canada’s most popular brands (based on Google searches). Walmart Canada’s extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $500 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca, facebook.com/walmartcanada and at twitter.com/walmartcanada.

Media Contact

For more information and to schedule interviews with Breakfast Club of Canada or Walmart spokespeople, please contact:

Julie Hauville

Media Relations, Breakfast Club of Canada

julie.hauville@breakfastclubcanada.org

 

Felicia Fefer

Corporate Affairs, Walmart Canada

Felicia.Fefer@walmart.com

 

 

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