“Your organization made such a huge difference in my life. I never thought one day I’d be able to say THANK YOU!”

Geneviève Everell is the wiz behind Sushi à la maison. With 10 cookbooks published, some 30 food products available on supermarket shelves and two restaurants in Montreal and Quebec City, hers is a truly remarkable rags-to-riches story. And yet, she has no qualms about delving into the trials and tribulations of her childhood.

“They say kids have it easy. That may be the case for some, but for others childhood is little more than a pipedream and they’re forced to grow up way too fast.” (Translation of a quote on her official website)

School breakfast programs changed Geneviève’s life. Breakfast Club of Canada helped mitigate the food insecurity she experienced at home. Despite her poverty-stricken upbringing, she maintains a “glass half full” outlook. Because everything she has gone through makes her who she is today.

To find out more about everybody’s favourite “sushipreneur,” we asked her a few questions about her school years and her breakfast program memories.

BCC: Hi, Geneviève! Thanks for agreeing to talk to us about your experience. To start off, what was the food situation like at home when you were growing up?

Geneviève: At my house, getting food on the table was always a bit of a scramble. We’d go to food banks and church basements, but what we got there wasn’t always that appetizing. Fortunately, my mom was a really good cook. She’d always manage to whip up something amazing with a tray of frozen sausages and a few carrots. I often saw her go without so that I’d get enough to eat. I remember on the first of the month, she’d always do something special, but it never lasted. The rest of the time, we’d scrape by just to get three meals a day. And breakfast often fell by the wayside.

BCC: There are lots of reasons kids don’t eat breakfast at home. Some people’s mornings are just too rushed, or there may be a long bus ride in to school. Other kids simply like having breakfast with their friends. In your case, it was because your family often couldn’t afford it. Did you realize back then there was a difference between you and the other children?

Geneviève: I thought it was normal not to eat breakfast at home. I didn’t think any of my friends did either. I started to clue in when I would go on sleepovers at homes where they were better off financially. But I had other friends from food-insecure families who were in the same boat as me, so I didn’t feel singled out.

BCC: Do you have any memories of the breakfast program you used to go to? Did you enjoy yourself?

Geneviève: Having the breakfast program in my life was a BLESSING. I was very lucky you were there for me. Not only for breakfast but, to be brutally frank, I’d even go back for leftovers when the lunch bell went off. That was my midday meal.

BCC: Do you think hunger had any adverse effects on your life?

Geneviève: Anxiety, probably, and worry about whether or not there’d be enough to eat. That was the worst part of it. I didn’t talk about it very often. I was admittedly too proud for my own good.

BCC: During this back-to-school season, 1 out of 3 children across the country will be going to school on an empty stomach. How do you feel when you hear a statistic like that?

Geneviève: I have to say it floors me. My first reaction is, “It’s 2020! How can that be?” It’s as if our brains can’t process the sheer magnitude of the situation. And it’s happening right under our noses. The people who are having trouble feeding their kids could be your friends, your neighbours or your co-workers.

Knowing that 1 out of 3 Canadian children don’t get breakfast in the morning breaks my heart. When you’re young and growing, eating before you go to school is CRUCIAL. It obviously helps kids concentrate and do well in class. But it’s not just about filling their bellies: it’s about giving them hope, making them feel like they have someone to turn to for help and support, and in some cases giving them a way out, which is what it did for me.

Our sincere thanks to Geneviève Everell for opening up her heart to us. If this interview struck a chord with you, be sure to go to her website to learn more about her story.

Breakfast Club of Canada’s back-to-school fundraising campaign will help the more than 2 million children who would otherwise start their day hungry for food instead of hungry for knowledge. Help us reach out to as many of them as possible by making an online donation or by texting CLUB to 20222.

This month, we are putting a spotlight on the breakfast program at Central Community School in Port Coquitlam, BC. Central Community School has been a part of the Breakfast Club of Canada family since 2015. The program started off small – serving an average of 20 to 25 students out of a school population of 300+.

Last year, the principal and breakfast coordinator made a conscious decision to increase engagement with the breakfast program and reach more students. There were a number of factors that contributed to the success of this initiative.

1. Instead of serving breakfast out of the kitchen, breakfast is now served in the gym. This new location provides a larger, welcoming environment and enough space for students, parents and staff to congregate, have a bite to eat and connect in the morning before school starts.
2. The site coordinator often communicates with other breakfast coordinators that run bustling programs in the district. They discuss best practices and use one another as sounding boards for new ideas.
3. They have leveraged their breakfast program as an opportunity to engage with their local community: one morning, the Port Coquitlam fire department hosted a school-wide pancake breakfast!

Most importantly, the staff at Central Community acknowledge that a successful breakfast program requires a team effort. The program is supported by numerous teachers, youth workers, educational assistants, parent volunteers, student volunteers from the neighbouring high school and the principal. The program now feeds 90 to 100 students each morning!

Thank you, Central Community, for allowing us to be a part of your exciting journey!

As we celebrate International Volunteer Day, Breakfast Club of Canada would like to thank the 17,500 adult volunteers and 10,300 youth volunteers who rise and shine every morning to get a good healthy breakfast ready for 240,000 students in 1,809 schools across the country. For the past 25 years, you have been the driving force behind the success of our mission. Without you, the Club’s nation-wide network of breakfast programs would not exist.

Today, we’d like to shine the spotlight on the work done by the members of the Association des personnes handicapées de Chibougamau-Chapais (APHCC). APHCC Executive Director Lynda Bubar explains: “As part of the association’s fight against poverty and marginalization, we developed a pilot project in November 2010 to serve breakfast and lunch at La Porte-du-Nord, a local high school.”

For this initiative, the cafeteria uses the services of people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. This gives them an opportunity to work in a stable, well-supervised environment suited to their individual needs. As a result, they are less socially isolated and feel like they belong to a unified community. As everyone gets better acquainted, the differences between them become less apparent, and individual gifts and talents shine through. The students are respectful, and volunteers with disabilities enjoy the important role they play in the school.

Routines and tasks are planned around volunteers’ capacities, their ability to learn and even their specific personalities. They can therefore progress at their own pace, take on new challenges and become more confident. Once they have reached a certain level of comfort in their activities, the APHCC then gradually increases the degree of difficulty. They can also use the opportunity to gain personal and job-related skills.

Bubar explains that the work experience is appealing and enriching. Not only is it a stable source of nutrition for both students and volunteers, but it also provides an environment that is mindful of varying aptitudes and needs. Plus, it makes people with disabilities feel valued and needed. These are all meaningful benefits. As a result of their involvement, the volunteers have become active, engaged members of their community. They are also instrumental in helping people understand and appreciate individual differences. It is a wonderful example of a hands-on awareness and education program in action – and a great opportunity to bring more visibility to people living with disabilities.

The impacts of the project are tangible. Volunteers find the experience rewarding at a personal level. For others, it helps them maintain an emotional balance. And many of them say that it fills a fundamental need of feeling like they’re part of a family.

Thinking back, one volunteer stands out in Bubar’s mind. “Diane, who had severe physical limitations, volunteered with the breakfast program for five whole years. She’d show up for her shift without fail, always on time and always ready to work. She took her role very seriously. Everyone on the team and all of the students loved her. And she got a lot out of it in terms of self-esteem.”

“The relationship between students and the APHCC team is very important,” added Bubar. “We are very lucky to be able to serve a healthy breakfast every morning in such a friendly, inclusive environment. This endeavour has made it possible for the team, volunteers, job readiness program participants and, of course, students to become more caring, compassionate people. It’s very heartwarming to see.”

Thank you to all APHCC volunteers for making their community a better place!

From coast to coast, in every province and territory, dedicated parents, volunteers, and school staff get up early each morning to make a huge impact in the day of these students by providing them with equal opportunities to succeed. The following stories are just a few of the wonderful testimonials to the power of breakfast programs in the schools. We hope you’ll find these stories as impactful and touching as we do.

Emily, student, James Park Elementary School, British Columbia

Hi, my name’s Emily and I’m a Grade 5 student from British Columbia. My dad actually got me into Breakfast Club because he started volunteering, so I went with him and learned how to do all the cool things that the Breakfast Club needs. Like pouring water, making pizza buns… making all the things on the menu (laughs)! That was three years ago and I still volunteer every day because I love serving the other kids, and now my mom comes also so it’s my dad, my mom, and me, so it’s something fun we do as a family.

Lots of kids come with their families so it makes me really happy to see everyone enjoying the food. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of adults who used to be strangers, and now I also am friends with their kids because of that! Kids are getting to know each other better, and lots more people come to school early now so they can join the program, so it’s really fun. Sometime even the principal and teachers eat with us and that makes us happy. We get to know them in a different way and I’ve learned some things about the adults that I wouldn’t have learned if we just saw each other in class.

School Administrator, Johnny Therriault Memorial School, Aroland First Nation, Ontario

Our Breakfast program is as much about serving nutritious food as it is a social event. Without a doubt, our program improves the mental and psycho-social well-being of our students. From time to time we have new students in an unfamiliar school and community, and they are often very cautious, reluctant, shy and introverted. However, as these students begin to settle in, the breakfast program helps them form new friendships. One specific student who was a Tikinagan child, enrolled in our school in Grade 5. She was extremely shy and hardly spoke. She was very hesitant to participate in the breakfast program, fearful to even enter the gymnasium where the program takes place. After some support and words of encouragement from staff, she slowly started to come into the program, eat with her fellow classmates, smile and socialize. It was wonderful to see her smile, talking and socializing with her classmates after only two weeks of coming to our school.

Stéphanie Riedyk, Breakfast Program Supervisor, École La Mosaïque, Alberta

Our school is multicultural school, where students develop new tastes related to the Canada Food Guide. Parents really value what our program offers their kids. One father told me, “this program is a blessing for modest families like ours, who do not necessarily have the means to offer a complete meal to our children and especially the time necessary to do it early in the morning. We are infinitely grateful to you”. What we really love is when the children come to tell us after each breakfast “Mrs. Stephanie, I really liked this meal. Thank you very much, what are we eating tomorrow?” You can not know how happy I am to see the glowing eyes of these little children happy to have eaten well.

LaSalle Elementary Junior School, Quebec

Conversation with Mrs. Donna, Integration Aid

Donna: I go outside at recess with the kids and there’s this one little child who is always in trouble, never listens, you always hear his name being called to come here, stop that, or get down from there. Since stating breakfast late last year, that’s all stopped. Now he comes in, has his breakfast…he’s the happiest little boy.

Club: What do you think it is about breakfast club that helps him the most? The full belly? The social aspect?

Donna: A bit of both. And just having a calm moment to start the day, the calm music really helps. I am so happy with this child. What a good feeling – and what a good feeling for him.

Conversation Mrs. Julia, Teacher

Julia: I love volunteering at breakfast club because I get to interact with the kids so early in the morning. Some of them come in a bit sad so I make them happy by just talking to them.

Club: How is it different than in the classroom?

Julia: Because it’s one on one here. You’re not their teacher so you can have conversations and joke with them. Some of them just need a little hello to make their day and that’s important to me.

In fact, during the interview, Mrs Julia got to demonstrate this when a student came in and said he had put his tooth under his pillow last night, but the tooth fairy didn’t come. Mrs. Julia made a big deal of his missing tooth, congratulated him on losing it and made him feel special.

Conversation with the kids

Club: What’s your favorite thing you get at breakfast club?

Student: Bagels! When we first went in breakfast club our first day we saw bagels! Its soooooo good! I wish we had bagels everyday! (is tomorrow bagel day?)

Other students: Grilled cheese! We love grilled cheese!

Club: so this must be your favorite day!

Students: yes! It’s the best!

Club: I see there’s a lot of people working very hard to make your favorite breakfast!

Student: I was here this morning and I saw Mrs Donna make all this.

Club: I saw when you came in before you gave Mrs Donna a big hug? She’s special….

Student: I love her she’s my favorite! She used to be in my class last year.

Club: it must be fun that you get to have breakfast with her every day now!

Student: Yah!

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A while back, we shared Cameron’s story, a 5-year-old boy who regularly volunteers with his mom. In the article, Cameron’s mom explained how volunteering helped her son gain tremendous confidence.

Caroline Soucy, Breakfast Club of Canada’s Senior Coordinator, is delighted to work alongside these volunteers who rise above their age to further a cause they care deeply about.

One morning, at Bruno-Choquette School’s breakfast program, Caroline was washing dishes with 70-year-old Madame Pauline, a volunteer of 8 years. Madame Pauline was telling her how volunteering and seeing children contributed so much to her well-being.

In Madame Pauline’s words: “They’re polite and say thank you and please. It’s very heartening for us seniors. Yesterday, I was helping a centenarian, and this morning, I’m surrounded by 5-year-olds. It’s quite the contrast!”

Madame Pauline isn’t alone – she also volunteers with Madame Fernande. The two knew each other even before becoming Club volunteers in 2011. Their favourite routine is going out for breakfast together after their shift.

Then there’s Monsieur Roger – he was a new retiree when he started volunteering. He decided to get involved with the Club to fight boredom and feel useful. He’s proud to say that, in all, he hasn’t missed more than 7 days since starting his adventure back in 2004!

Between the three (Madame Pauline, 70, Madame Fernande, 77, and Madame Roger, 84), they have 231 years of experience and 31 as volunteers!

Thank you to these three exceptional volunteers who wake up early in the morning eager to make a daily difference in the lives of our program’s children!

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Do you want to do your part for the Club?
To learn more about volunteering at a school, click here.
To learn more about different ways to give, click here.
Remember: All donations make a difference!

Do you have an inspiring story about the Club that you would like to share? 
Write us here! We want to hear from you!

Last year was a biggie for our family: our only son, Cameron, started full-time Pre-K at St. Jude Elementary on the South Shore of Montreal. The bean adjusted beautifully and made friends with his little classmates, but it wasn’t until we decided to start volunteering for our school’s Breakfast Club that we really found ourselves becoming attached to our school.

It started as a one-morning thing, just to try it out. I’d wanted to find a way to volunteer at my son’s school, hopefully with him, so he could give back a little. And, given we were morning people, serving breakfast seemed like the perfect activity.

Meeting extraordinary people

When we arrived, we saw who was running the program: five selfless women, all with grown children who were no longer in elementary school, as well as a few teenagers, who together were feeding almost 200 kids. One of the adult volunteers was in her eighties, standing on her feet (by choice) to serve the juice and milk. There was another woman who kept the breakfast bin-filling – for the children who arrived just in time for school and ate in their classroom – right on schedule, and she always had an amazing group of older Grade 6 volunteers, who came into school early to help. There was even a teenager who was in high school and had attended our school a few years prior – he came to St. Jude as often as he could to help with Breakfast Club before catching his bus to start his busy day at Centennial High School. The program was spearheaded by yet another selfless woman, who had been at the heart of the school for decades. All of these incredible people made it possible for so many kids to start off their days with a healthy, filling breakfast (not to mention the smiles they received as they conversed with the volunteers they had all grown to love).

By getting involved, everyone wins … Especially us!

We were hooked. Even though we were late in the school year (it was April), for three months we went to Breakfast Club every morning. My son gained tremendous confidence getting to know the kids at his school, particularly the older ones he began to befriend, and I loved the hugs and smiles I got every morning as we handed out yogurt, fruit, bagels, eggs, pancakes, and more. This summer, all we talked about was how much we missed Breakfast Club, and we have loved being a part of the group again this school year.

Breakfast Club also got my son excited to give back in other ways by getting involved in different philanthropic activities, such as fundraising for a few causes that are important to him, and signing petitions to help save his favourite animals: sharks! Keep in mind, Cameron is only five years old. It just goes to show that there is no age limit to giving back!

Children helping other children

Breakfast Club is so special to us. It gave us a way to give back to our school, and to feel connected to our student body as well as the teachers and staff. And it sparked something within my son to give to others, to find even small ways to help those in need and become active in our community. And nothing feels better than giving kids a great start to their day.

The other morning a child asked Cameron, “Why are you always working here?” And he replied, “I’m not working. This isn’t work. I’m helping. It’s important to help.” To which the child replied, “Can I help too?”  Kids inspiring kids… isn’t that what it’s all about?

Jennifer Cox

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Volunteering and families often go hand in hand. Click here to read another touching story!

Do you want to do your part for the Club?
To learn more about volunteering at a school, click here.
To learn more about different ways to give, click here.
Remember: $ 3 = 1 breakfast. All donations make a difference!

Do you have an inspiring story about the Club that you would like to share?
Write us here! We want to hear from you!

(Photo by Ella Olsson from Pexels)

At this time of uncertainty across Canada, here are some tips for eating nutritious meals at low cost.

During this time, encourage children to get involved in planning and cooking of meals. It is a fun activity that passes the time and that can be a great learning opportunity!

1. Plan your meals accordingly and only buy what you need. Work to plan your meals in advance, create a grocery list and only purchase what you need. This will limit mindless shopping at the grocery store. Check out the Dietitian’s of Canada Recipe E-book for easy, simple recipes.
2. Aim for a balanced meal. Choose foods in accordance with Canada’s Food Guide. This means having all 3 food categories in every meal to ensure your meal is balanced and nutritious. Include fruits or vegetables, whole grains and a source of protein.
3. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables. Frozen produce is usually just as nutritious. It is cheaper, readily available and usually sold in large bags. It can be used when cooking, making smoothies or as yummy toppings for oatmeal and yogurt.
4. Choose different types of proteins. Dry or canned beans, canned tuna or salmon, tofu, nuts and grains are often cheaper and all great options to get adequate protein intake.
5. Be creative with what you already have at home. Scan your fridge and cupboards to see what you have. Use apps or websites like SuperCook or My Fridge Foods to generate recipes based on limited ingredients. You’d be surprised at what you can use to create fun combinations!

Choosing the best nutritional options for your breakfast program can be tricky so that’s why we’re here to help! This month we are focusing on consuming whole fruits and vegetables rather than juice since they offer many more nutritional benefits than its counterpart, often containing added sugar.

On top of this, juiced fruit is:

• Not a whole food: in juice, the fruit structure has changed and chewing is not needed. Chewing is an important part of the digestive process leading to feeling full.
• Higher Consumption and Increased Sugar Intake: Did you know a cup of juice contains the same amount of sugar as a cup of soda?! Because juice is so concentrated you end up with a surprising high amount of both natural and typically sugars. Without the fibre of the whole fruit to help us feel full and help our body to balance blood sugar levels, we are left with a huge energy crash not long after drinking juice. Blood sugar spikes and crashes can negatively impact our body’s natural ability to know when it is truly hungry or full, which can often lead to overeating.
• Reduced Fibre: The skin and pulp of a whole fruit are viable sources of daily fibre, which are often removed during the juicing process. This reduces the nutritional value of the juice significantly, compared to whole fruit.

So while serving juice at your morning breakfast program is sometimes tempting, we encourage you to consider whole fruits as the more viable option! If fresh fruit is not as easy to access in your community, then frozen fruit is a great alternative and goes great in a morning smoothie! Canned fruit packed in water is another good option for when fresh fruit is not available (careful of added sugars here).

And as always, we are here to help if you have any nutrition questions or would like to brainstorm how to spice up your morning menu!

Now here’s a green idea from St-François-de-Sales municipality in Quebec for reducing a school breakfast program’s carbon footprint and helping students keep their desk space clean and tidy!

All students at École Boisjoli school received a reusable “école-O” placemat they can use to eat their breakfast in the classroom and bring in utensils from home.

Designed by a local craftswoman, the placemat comes with a zippered pouch and is made of lined, spill- and stain-resistant material. To take it home after they’re done eating, students simply roll it back up and put it in their school bag.

By using washable utensils for breakfast every day, students can do something good for the environment and keep more than 10,000 plastic forks, knives and spoons from being thrown out in the course of a year!

(Photo: Alexander Mils on Unsplash)

Advice from the On-the-Ground Experts at Deninu School, Northwest Territories

Oftentimes we hear that school breakfast coordinators want to introduce new nutritious foods to their menu, but they fear doing so because students are sometimes reluctant to trying out new foods. That being said, there are ways around these obstacles, and we wanted to showcase a program who took on the challenge of introducing new foods in their program this year. The secret? Nutritious food can also be delicious food!

Meet Deninu School in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories. Here, an inspired volunteer wanted to teach students that homemade foods made with simple ingredients and less sugar foods can taste just as good (or better) than processed foods. Some of the new foods introduced were egg frittatas, home-made granola, whole-wheat baking and bannock, baked potato wedges, veggies with home-made dips, and pancakes with pureed, frozen vegetables added to them. The school admits that in the beginning, the students were more reluctant to eat less sweet foods at breakfast, but in very little time, their taste buds seemed to adjust and the kids quickly began enjoying them – especially when they saw older students or their peers enjoying them! In fact, the veggies and homemade dip are now a program favourite at Deninu School!

So you are probably hoping for some tips on how to go about doing this in your program. Well, go no further! We asked Deninu School to help us out here seeing as they are the pros in this area:

1. Serve and cut new foods into smaller portions for students to try. This way they fit into small hands, are less intimidating, and help to reduce waste.
2. Make the names more interesting. When Deninu School introduced whole wheat French toast, they creatively called it ‘Quebec Pancakes’ which peaked student interest.
3. Puree fruits and vegetables and add them to things like baking, pancakes, smoothies etc. If access to fresh produce is hard to come by, use frozen or canned fruits and veggies (ideally without added sugar or salt)!
4. Accept that students need time to familiarize themselves with new foods. Some will need to be exposed several times to them before enjoying them. Persevere!
5. Be flexible – sometimes the school will put out maple syrup, but they are starting to notice that the students are not using it much anymore. Sugary items, eaten occasionally, also have a place in a healthy diet!

Thanks to Deninu School for sharing! We hope this story has inspired you to spice things up in the kitchen and introduce new-tricious and varied foods on the menu!

As always, please reach out to your Club Coordinator if you are looking to ntroduce new foods into your program but are not quite sure how to start. We are always thrilled to hear from you!

(Photo: Alice Pasqual on Unsplash)

20 portions
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 20 min

What you’ll need:

• 1 rectangular baking dish
• 1 sheet of parchment paper
• 1 large bowl
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 small saucepan
• 1 measuring cup kit
• 1 measuring spoon kit
• 1 cutting board
• 1 chef’s knife

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500 mL) fast-cooking oats
• 2 cups (500 mL) puffed rice
• ½ cup (125 mL) wheat bran or oat bran
• ½ cup (125 mL) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup (125 mL) dried apricots, small diced
• ¼ cup (60 mL) powdered milk
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) maple syrup
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) canola oil
• 3 eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place rack in middle of oven and preheat to 180 °C (350 °F).
2. Line the rectangular baking dish with a sheet of parchment paper.
3. In the bowl, mix the oats, puffed rice, wheat or oat bran, dried fruits and powdered milk. Set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, bring maple syrup, brown sugar and oil to boil. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour into dry ingredients and combine until batter is moistened. Add eggs and mix until cereal mixture sticks together.
5. Spread mix evenly in dish and press firmly so that layer is uniform. Cook in oven for approximately 15 minutes or until cereal is lightly browned. Place dish in freezer for about 15 minutes. Unmould and cut into 20 bars.
6. Bars will stay fresh in a sealed container for up to two weeks. At this stage they can also be frozen, if desired. Bars can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap.

CHEF’S TIP: Make sure the bars have cooled down before cutting them. You can also portion balls from the start of the recipe instead of pressing the mixture into a rectangular dish to avoid having to cut the bars in the last step.

NUTRITIONIST’S TIP: For an even healthier snack, bring a piece of fresh fruit to eat with your bar!

Thanks to La Tablée des chefs for these delicious recipes! www.tableedeschefs.org/en