Breakfast club of canada members at Waterloo Ontario

The heart of the campaign lies with its Associates – Waterloo, ON

Malissa Mota is a true Breakfast Club of Canada ambassador. As Charity leader, Claims Associate and Walmart employee for the past eight years, she’s inspiring her colleagues to go above and beyond- all for the kids.

“Hearing that kids are going to school without anything to eat is heartbreaking. It’s something we take for granted. Many of the associates at this store can relate to this cause because they have their own children. You can feel the connection in their voices when they speak about it.”

Malissa and her colleagues believe that every child should begin their day with a nutritious breakfast. For this reason, they’ve gone above and beyond to raise money, and awareness, for Breakfast Club of Canada. The store produced their own campaign-specific t-shirts.

“One of our Greeters, Diane, is a part-time clown who also sings and makes balloon animals. We have her at the entrance of the store greeting customers and selling balloon animals as a way of raising additional funds.”

Cashiers and associates at this Waterloo store embody what it means to give back to their community and all of us at the Club are deeply touched by the passion and support we feel from the Walmart team.

Child holding an apple

At Breakfast Club of Canada, we are committed to providing 21,010 students with a wholesome, well-rounded meal every morning to get their school day off to a good start.

Today, we’d like to take a closer look at the many benefits, nutritional and otherwise, of Quebec-grown apples.

A superfood that’s super good!

  • The average apple contains 86% water – and only 70 calories.
  • Apples are rich in fibre, which help in absorbing their natural sugars and make you feel like you are full.
  • The apples grown in Quebec are red, which means they have more antioxidants and are great for your cardiovascular health.

And apples are conveniently packaged (naturally), making them the perfect addition to any lunch box.

So many ways to enjoy…

Biting into a fresh apple is a treat in and of itself, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better fruit for baking. It’s a huge source of inspiration for our volunteers who love to whip up breakfast cookies, crumbles and other apple-rific recipes!

250,000+ apples for kids across Quebec

Thanks to the tremendous generosity of our partners at Pommes Qualité Québec (representing Les Producteurs de pommes du Québec and the Association des emballeurs de pommes du Québec), our kids can enjoy this amazing fruit all year round.

Since 2002, Pommes Qualité Québec has donated thousands of apples to our young breakfast program participants. For a better idea of what this collaboration entails, be sure to watch this video of an apple’s journey from the orchard to the breakfast table (only available un French):

PRO TIP: The best place to keep apples is in your fridge’s fruit compartment, loose or in their original packaging. Either way, they’ll stay crisp and delicious longer. (Remember that an apple at room temperature gets softer 10 times faster!)

Bureau En Gros employees standing in front of their store

We are lucky to have lots of partners who contribute in their own way to making the back-to-school period easier for everyone. This time of year is a very demanding one, not only for parents and teachers, but also for our teams here at the Club, who are working hard to make sure that more than 243,000 children across Canada will be starting every school day with a good, healthy meal.

Fortunately, many of our dedicated partners have already raised their hand to let us know they’ll be helping out. For the past 13 years, Bureau en Gros has been a faithful ally, encouraging associates across the province to do their part to make this yearly fundraiser a success. And it only makes sense that they would want to support our breakfast programs: we give children the energy to do well in school and enable volunteers of all ages to acquire valuable leadership skills.

Once again this year, Bureau en Gros is giving their customers the opportunity to show their support for their community while they get ready for back to school by donating to Breakfast Club of Canada. Employees are also encouraged to get in on the action with their own fundraising activities. Whether it’s a barbecue or a staff denim day challenge, their imagination is endless – and so is their dedication to our cause. Over the years, Bureau en Gros has donated in excess of $3.2 million to Breakfast Club of Canada to support children’s health and education, two aspects critical to helping them thrive.

Child eating breakfast in cafeteria

We are lucky to have lots of partners who contribute in their own way to making the back-to-school period easier for everyone. This time of year is a very demanding one, not only for parents and teachers, but also for our teams here at the Club, who are working hard to make sure that more than 243,000 children across Canada will be starting every school day with a good, healthy meal.

Fortunately, many of our dedicated partners have already raised their hand to let us know they’ll be helping out. For the past 17 years, Walmart has faithfully encouraged associates from their 408 stores across the country to do their part to make this yearly fundraiser a success. And it only makes sense that they would want to support our breakfast programs: we give children the energy to do well in school and enable volunteers of all ages to acquire valuable leadership skills.

Once again this year, Walmart is inviting their customers to show their support for their community while they get settled into their school routines by donating to Breakfast Club of Canada.

This year has a particular significance, as we hope to reach a milestone of $50 million raised for Breakfast Club of Canada. You can play a part in supporting children’s health and education: stop by a Walmart and donate!

You can also give online right here.

Thank you for nourishing children’s potential!

children with pinwheels on their heads

The Add a Breakfast to Your Bill campaign in partnership with Costco Wholesale has been a resounding success, raising a total of $1,000,000 in just one week!

Costco Wholesale has been supporting Breakfast Club of Canada since 2007 by raising funds and increasing public awareness about school breakfast programs. The Club and Costco are both committed to helping more children and youth succeed in school and fulfill their potential. Costco’s contribution means the Club can offer breakfast to more than 243,000 students across the country to get their school mornings off to a healthy start.

The Club would like to congratulate all the employees in the 111 participating Costco warehouses for their amazing contributions to this initiative. Every year, they play a key role in making sure as many young Canadians as possible have access to a school breakfast program. Our heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of them for their generosity and dedication.

As it currently stands, one out of four Canadian children starts their school day on an empty stomach. The Club leverages its network and its expertise to bring together a wide range of resources and stakeholders to counter this sobering statistic. The donations received are invested in 1,809 breakfast programs from coast to coast. These programs are important to promoting children’s well-being, not only by serving a wholesome breakfast every morning in a caring, nurturing environment but also by making sure they have the energy they need to do well academically. A recent Canada-wide poll conducted by the Club of 41 school administrations revealed that breakfast program enrollees double their attention span in class. Half of the schools who answered the survey also reported an improvement in attendance.

Be sure to join Breakfast Club of Canada and Costco Wholesale for next year’s back-to-school fundraiser!

2 young women making pitas in a kitchen

In December 2019, Restaurants Normandin offered a unique opportunity to two BCC student volunteers as a reward for their involvement in their school breakfast program. This was one of “50 Good Deeds” undertaken by the Quebec chain which, like the Club, is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

Secondary 2 students Dorothée and Jasmine were the ones chosen for the experience, not only because of their commitment to Breakfast Club of Canada but also in recognition of their overall community engagement.

Upon their arrival at the Bouvier Street location in Quebec City, Dorothée and Jasmine were given a tour of the bustling kitchen, staffed by over 100 employees, and then invited to create their own pizza. They kneaded the dough and tossed it in the air, with some rather amusing results, picked their toppings from an almost endless selection and cooked it up in the massive pizza oven. They put a painstaking amount of effort into making the final result as close to perfect as they could. The pair were then put on hostessing duty, where they did an exceptional job showing patrons to their table and managing the various logistical considerations that come with the job. Customers were delighted to be part of the experience and had nothing but glowing comments about their performance. Last but certainly not least, Dorothée and Jasmine dug into their pizza while they chatted with members of the Normandin marketing team.

They left with a complimentary pizza pan and two frozen Normandin pizzas. Both said they enjoyed themselves immensely and were happy with everything they learned. They also had the satisfaction of applying some of their newfound knowledge to their breakfast program upon their return to school.

This marks the end of the back-to-school campaign at Normandin that ran throughout the month of September, after which a cheque for over $28,000 was presented to the Club. The team is eager to repeat the experience in 2020. Thank you to everyone at Normandin for your wonderful contributions over the past 13 years.