Your next breakfast dish could help impact the future of Canadian children. Cora Breakfast and Lunch has recently released a new menu featuring its Breakfast for the Club. For each Breakfast for the Club ordered, $0.50 will be donated to Breakfast Club of Canada.

In Canada, one in four children is at risk of starting school on an empty stomach. Hunger affects classroom learning (60% of which is done before lunch), behavioural issues such as bullying and social exclusion, as well as overall health and well-being. The Club helps instil good eating habits that contribute to the health and education of our youth.

“The story began in my own home, tells Cora Breakfast and Lunch founder, Cora Tsouflidou. This feeling of having to provide for those who depended on me intensified the day my first grandson was born. We had just opened our first restaurant and every penny counted. Nevertheless, I made it my mission to ensure that my grandchildren would never go hungry. It was an entirely natural step for us to partner with Breakfast Club of Canada.”

Cora restaurants have been long-time partners of Breakfast Club of Canada and are pleased to offer a brand-new dish to support this important cause. The delicious sweet ’n salty breakfast plate will help feed youth across Canada, so they can start their school day with a full tummy and look forward to a brighter future.
“It’s amazing for Breakfast Club of Canada to find partners who understand, such as Cora Breakfast and Lunch restaurants, the importance of breakfast and community,” says Lisa Clowery, Director, Foundations and Corporate Relations at Breakfast Club of Canada. Since 2007, Cora renews year after year its support to our cause, while finding new delicious way to feed our appetites!”

Boucherville, November 5, 2019 – Twenty-five years ago, Breakfast Club of Canada served its first breakfast at Lionel-Groulx School in Longueuil, Quebec. The Club has grown considerably since then. Last year, more than 40 million breakfasts were served to over 243,000 children registered with the 1,809 breakfast programs supported by the organization. To celebrate this anniversary, Breakfast Club of Canada has chosen to honour the people behind the Club’s efforts to make a difference in children’s lives and promote school nutrition.

Highlights:

• Roughly 100 Breakfast Club of Canada employees across the country spent the morning at a local breakfast program to help serve food to students.
• Daniel Germain, President and Founder of Breakfast Club of Canada, and Judith Barry, Co-Founder and Director, Impact and Sustainable Solutions, served breakfast at Lionel-Groulx School, where the first breakfast program was established 25 years ago. Daniel and Judith were joined for the occasion by retired principal Thérèse De Clerck.
• The Club then thanked the partners, volunteers and staff members who have contributed to its success at a celebration looking back at its progress and achievements over the past 25 years.
• A quarter of a century after it was founded, Breakfast Club of Canada is a recognized leader in school nutrition in Canada, which remains the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program.

Quotes:

“We are very moved and proud to be celebrating the Club’s 25th anniversary today. That’s 25 years of nourishing children’s potential every single morning, giving them the energy to achieve their dreams. All of the supporters who have accompanied us on this journey have contributed in one way or another to giving children an equal chance to succeed. I’m so grateful to all those who, 25 years later, still believe that, together, we can change their lives for the better, one breakfast at a time.”

– Daniel Germain, President and Founder, Breakfast Club of Canada

“The Club’s success is due mainly to the fact that people have come together and worked as a team, starting with Daniel and Judith who have championed this cause for the past 25 years. Joining them have been the volunteers and school staff who have made sure this service is available without fail every morning, bringing nutrition and caring to kids across the country. It’s also about the passion of the Club’s employees, who give their all to help children realize their full potential. And last but not least are our partners and donors who fund 95% of our mission. Without them, we would not be able to do what we do.”

– Tommy Kulczyk, General Manager, Breakfast Club of Canada

About Breakfast Club of Canada

Since 1994, Breakfast Club of Canada has been committed to nurturing the potential of children by ensuring that as many as possible have access to a nutritious breakfast served in an environment that promotes their self-esteem before classes begin. Much more than a breakfast program, the Club’s approach is based on commitment, self-esteem and capacity development. Breakfast Club of Canada helps feed more than 243,000 children and youth in 1,809 schools across the country.

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For more information:
Justine Plourde
Communications Advisor, Public Relations
Breakfast Club of Canada
justine.plourde@breakfastclubcanada.org
1-888-442-1217, ext. 3369

A great tool to fast-track the development of the Club and its partner organizations
and help the more than 1 million young Canadians who go to school on an empty stomach

Vancouver, British Columbia, November 27, 2019 – With one in four Canadian children going to school without breakfast in 2019 – or one in two in Indigenous communities – more than 1 million students across the country are at risk of starting their day hungry.[1] Outraged by these statistics, Breakfast Club of Canada has decided to take action to bring about change, starting within its own organization. It has therefore spearheaded an in-depth study on the social impact of its work in Canada in an effort to make the most of the resources at its disposal, in synergy with its partner stakeholders.

Since its inception 25 years ago, Breakfast Club of Canada has been working with multiple organizations to develop school breakfast programs to fight food insecurity and spur positive, lasting change for children. Despite these efforts, the situation continues to be alarming in Canada, the only G7 country not to have a school food program.

It is important to note that hunger is not always linked to scarcity. Besides a shortage of resources and access to food, there are any number of reasons a child may not have breakfast, among them a long bus ride to school, a rushed morning routine, a shortage of healthy food at home, a lack of appetite when getting out of bed, extracurricular activities before school and family emergencies. School breakfast programs reduce the risk of hunger and improve nutrition while contributing to children’s socioemotional wellness and mental health. These conditions play a predominant role in children’s ability to stay focused in class and succeed academically.

In the effort to make the most out of every donation, as well as leverage partner support to close in on the goal of serving more than 1 million breakfasts every morning in schools across the country, the Club is undertaking an extensive study on its societal influence. Led by the Credo consulting firm, the impact study will consist of an extensive three-year process in order to create a masterplan that meets the nutrition needs of at-risk children in schools and ensures the same quality of service is delivered across Canada. The process will begin with consultations with key student nutrition stakeholders. This will be followed by an evaluation of the various strategic levers and the quantification of the required means. The Club will then begin implementing its new plan, complete with performance indicators that will be assessed annually. The study will be an invaluable source of information in streamlining future initiatives and will allow the Club and its partner organizations to broaden their impact in the coming years.

As part of its partnership with the Club and its ongoing commitment to fighting childhood poverty in Canada, belairdirect sponsored the study. “Breakfast Club of Canada’s mission is essential to many children across Canada,” said Émilie Dutil-Bruneau, Director, Communications, Social Responsibility and Employer Brand at belairdirect. “At belairdirect, we care deeply about supporting organizations that make a difference in our society. We are proud to work with the Club to help them in their crucial mission to fight food insecurity. Funding this impact study is a key component of our partnership, and we see it as the best way to encourage the Club to continue its work. We are very pleased to contribute to effecting positive change.”

“The impact study is a vital step forward in our development, but it is not enough to ensure that all children at risk have access to a wholesome, nutritious breakfast,” said Judith Barry, Co-Founder of Breakfast Club of Canada and Director, Impact and Sustainable Solutions. In Canada, school breakfast programs are backed by various stakeholders. This network, including Breakfast Club of Canada, supports thousands of breakfast programs in high-risk areas, all of which are provided on a universal basis and accessible to the entire school population. As a result, they are open to children who are facing food insecurity, living in low-income households or children that simply can benefit from a healthy breakfast. Existing programs are chronically underfunded, preventing stakeholders from being able to meet the needs of new schools looking to join the Club.

“School nutrition must be a broader society-wide undertaking supported by stakeholders from the public, corporate, charitable and community sectors. We are hard at work bringing everyone together to create lasting solutions and reach our objective faster,” concluded Judith Barry.

The Club’s funding increasingly mirrors the diversity of stakeholders dedicated to the cause. A significant proportion of the work it does is made possible by private donations from partners and individuals. Because of these contributions, the Club now has the capacity to serve over 243,000 breakfasts every morning to 1,809 clubs from coast to coast.

About Breakfast Club of Canada

Breakfast Club of Canada is a charitable organization that provides funding, equipment, training and support to school breakfast programs across the country. Celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, the Club is dedicated to ensuring every child starts their day with a nutritious morning meal, in a safe and secure environment. Founded in Quebec in 1994, Breakfast Club of Canada is present in 1,809 schools from coast to coast feeding over 243,500 children every school morning. To learn more visit breakfastclubcanada.org or find us on social media.

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For more information:

Tatianna Ducklow
Context: An Argyle Company
1-587-897-7430
tducklow@contextresearch.ca

[1] Sources: Public Health Agency of Canada, 2015; BMC Public Health, 2014; World Health Organization, 2012.