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

***

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

(Photo: Kaitlyn Chow on Unsplash)

12 portions
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min

What you’ll need:

• 1 muffin pan for baking
• 12 paper muffin cups
• 1 measuring cup kit
• 1 measuring spoon kit
• 1 large bowl
• 1 medium bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 rubber spatula
• 1 whisk

Muffins:

•  ½ cup (125 mL) wheat bran
• 1½ cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
•  2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
• 3/4 cup (180 mL) peach yogurt
•  1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
•  1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
•  1 egg
• ½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) vegetable oil
• ¼ cup (60 mL) unsweetened apple sauce

Crunchy topping:

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) brown sugar
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) large flake oats (or quick-cooking oats)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Place muffin cups in a 12-muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, mix wheat bran, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix yogurt and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk egg, brown sugar, oil and apple sauce. Blend into dry ingredients using a spatula and alternate with yogurt mix. Add blueberries and mix together gently. Set aside while preparing crunchy topping.
5. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, melted butter and oats.
6. Divide the muffin batter into the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle oat topping on top. Cook in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until muffins are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Let cool and serve.

Chef’s Tip

For moister muffins, do not mix too strenuously. Replace peach yogurt with one of your favourite yogurt flavours!

Nutritionist’s Tip

These muffins are an excellent snack because they contain protein and carbohydrates to give your brain energy. Apple sauce reduces the sugar in the recipe and wheat bran adds fibre. Store-bought has nothing over these muffins!

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

(Photo : Toa Heftiba sur Unsplash)
20 portions
Prep time: 25 min.

What you’ll need:

• 2 cookie sheets
• 2 sheets of parchment paper
• Measuring cup kit
• 2 medium saucepans
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 medium bowl
• 1 spatula
• 1 chef’s knife
• 1 cutting board

Ingredients:

• For the pumpkin seed nougat:
• 1 cup (250 mL) pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup (60 mL) white granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) water

For the energy bites:

• 5 cups (1250 mL) dried figs, small diced
• 1¼ cup (310 mL) dried apricots, small diced
• 1 cup (250 mL) dried cherries, small diced
• 1 cup (250 mL) raisins
• 1 cup (250 mL) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup (125 mL) apple juice
• 1 cup (250 mL) sunflower butter
• 1 1/3 cup (250 m) cocoa powder
• ¼ cup (60 mL) maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

• Coarsely chop pumpkin seeds. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and water and cook until a light caramel forms. Pour in pumpkin seeds and stir vigorously until seeds are covered. Set aside pumpkin seed nougat.
• In a medium saucepan, rehydrate the dried fruit pieces by heating them in the apple juice for approximately 10 minutes, until a paste forms.
• Coarsely chop pumpkin seed nougat.
• Put all ingredients plus 1 cup of the cocoa powder in a medium bowl and knead until dough is even. Set aside in freezer for about 10 minutes.
• Pour the remaining cocoa powder onto a cookie sheet.
• Roll mixture and shape into little balls. Place on cookie sheet. Roll balls in cocoa powder until they are evenly covered.

CHEF’S TIP: Shaping the balls is easier if you use single-use gloves. Or, you can put the mixture in the fridge or freezer if it becomes too sticky.

NUTRITIONIST’S TIP: Energy bites are an excellent snack and full of great nutrients! Use your imagination: use different fruits or seeds, add chia or hemp seeds, nuts or even a variety of spices or flavours! Delicious with a glass of soy milk!

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

Des Grands-Êtres elementary school in Montreal has put a planet-friendly spin on how they run their breakfast program. Mario Cloutier is the school’s drama teacher. Here, he talks to us about the impact of this environmental mindset and shares how important the breakfast program is to the student population.

“I’m the teacher in charge of the Green (Environment) Committee at Des Grands-Êtres elementary school. Below is an overview of what drives our school team to contribute to this initiative.

Students are excellent agents of change, whether it’s through setting up projects to protect the environment or supporting a sustainable initiative in the local community. I hope my answers to these five questions will give you a good idea of what we’re doing here!”

Mario Cloutier, drama teacher

What about your breakfast program are you particularly proud of?

Three or four years ago, we introduced a school-wide composting program. We have even put together a “green squad,” made up of Grade 6 students, who are responsible for emptying out the composting bins and putting them back every day.

What advice would you give to other schools who have green ambitions?

Kids are our future, and the environment should be one of the most important priorities for anyone who works with them. It takes a generation to create new behaviours. So today’s students are the ones who will eventually lead real and lasting change.

How has your breakfast program affected school spirit?

The breakfast program is essential to the development of our kids. It helps improve their learning conditions by making sure they have access to healthy snacks.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard someone say about your breakfast program?

Everyone has their favourites when it comes to the food that is served. Some are “the best.” Others… not so much. So sometimes we hear things like, “Oh, no. Not that again!” But we can also hear an excited, “Awesome! I love this!”

If you could invite someone famous to breakfast at your school, who would it be and why?

Greta Thunberg, to make our students feel even more inspired to take care of their environment. Or (even if they’re not exactly famous) the CEO of a company who’d be willing to build us a green roof!

In Canada, March is Nutrition Month, and once again this year, Breakfast Club of Canada is seizing the opportunity to discuss all aspects of healthy nutrition. 

On the menu this week: the Nutrition Committee

Healthy eating lies at the heart of the school food vision. If going to school on a full stomach can help children maintain proper concentration throughout the day, it’s easy to see how a rich and nutritious diet can enhance their focus even more.

Constantly seeking to improve and further support the school breakfast programs, the Club counts on the assistance of its Nutrition Committee. Made up of Club employees whose expertise are in healthy eating, school food and food security, the committee acts an advisory board and a liaison body for schools and on-the-ground partners across the nation.

Working collaboratively, the committee members tackle issues and challenges that their respective communities and schools face. Furthermore, the committee works on developing resources and tools that help to further support the growth of all BCC school breakfast programs.

At the organizational level, the Nutrition Committee offers advice on food procurement, food access, and nutrition standards related to school food programing. For instance, the committee is currently working on developing a strategy to encourage social equity and diversity in breakfast programs. Nutrition Committee members also provides recommendations on food products, recipes and menus for those overseeing and managing the programs.

As we celebrate Nutrition Month, let’s show some appreciation for the work accomplished by the Nutrition Committee members!

Catherine D’Amours
Programs Support Advisor

Catherine works hand in hand with the Club coordinators assigned to the different regions of Quebec, where close to 450 breakfast programs co-exist. She ensures the various programs align and acts as an advisor who provides advice and opinions on best practices, tools and processes.

A nutrition graduate, she invites parents and teachers to be open-minded in the kitchen: “We shouldn’t hesitate to present variety on children’s plates, nor should we get discouraged if they don’t show enthusiasm towards certain foods. Tastes evolve quickly at a young age, and the sooner we educate children about healthy nutrition, the more we increase their chances of succeeding in the long run.” Beyond quantity and quality of ingredients, Catherine invests much effort evaluating how to improve the overall meal experience so to impact youth positively in their development.

Chelsey Hazelton
Senior Program Coordinator

Chelsey is the main point of contact for close to 90 schools in Nunavut, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and southern Alberta. The main focus of her role is to support schools to run high quality breakfast programs across the board.

Over the past three years she has witnessed the Club’s support increase in Western Canada, where the number of children reached by Breakfast Club of Canada continues to grow. All breakfast programs are unique in that they adapt to their local realities and needs, and the committee is a great way to discuss and collaborate on resources to support nutrition in programs across Canada. Because the region she covers is massive and includes several Indigenous communities, the inclusion of culture and food traditions in programs are high on her priority list. She believes that now more than ever, it is important to stay engaged at the community level to be able to respond to local needs as they arise.

Virginie Marcoux
Programs Coordinator, Montreal and Lanaudière (Quebec)

Virginie is the most recent addition to the Nutrition Committee. As a dietician, she is particularly interested in public health and food security. Her experience makes her an advocate against the feelings of guilt that many parents face. She feels strongly that getting kids to eat healthy is about balance and variety, not perfection.

Representing the Club on community-level engagement projects such as La Cantine pour tous, she sees her role as that of the facilitator of a complex multistakeholder network whose goal is to reinforce collaboration to give way to more cohesive and sustainable food aid services. Mindful of letting the community speak for itself and of allowing for a diversity of voices to be heard, Virginie approaches her work with sensitivity and scrutiny.

Maxine Lam
Coordinator, Manitoba and Alberta North-East

Maxine understands the realities of rural and remote communities, she completed her Master’s thesis at the University of Manitoba studying the sustainability of school breakfast programs. Her day-to-day role involves working closely and collaboratively with schools in both urban and northern communities.

A large portion of Maxine’s work is dedicated to food accessibility projects. Transportation and food availability are very real issues for some of the schools she supports, which in turn affects the cost and quality of products. Beyond her day-to-day work with schools, she is deeply motivated by the public engagement aspect of her work: “It’s important for people to know that the socioeconomic situation of families is not the only factor explaining why a child might go to school on an empty stomach. Many other factors can come into play.”

Are you looking for ideas of activities to do or recipes to try during spring break or Nutrition Month? Check out our recipe book!

A Club partner since 2018, BC Dairy provides generous bi-weekly donations of fresh dairy products to six Breakfast Club of Canada programs in Chilliwack and Agassiz, British Columbia, ensuring 500 students a day can benefit from increased food access in the region! Thanks to this project, the breakfast program coordinators at each of our partner schools can get creative with their meals and ensure their students have a nutritious and delicious start to their day! 

An integral partner in the BC Dairy project is Seabird Island Community School (Lalme’ Iwesawtexw) just outside of Agassiz, BC, part of the Stó:lō territory. With their large kitchen and full-time culinary staff, Seabird provides meals for 180 Kindergarten to grade 12 students per day, that’s over 1200 breakfasts a week! Coordinator Kim Smith has worked with The Breakfast Club of Canada to expand the reach of BC Dairy’s donations not just to her school, but to as many students in her community as possible, involving Agassiz Elementary Secondary School (AESS) and Agassiz Centre for Education into the project as well. Every two weeks, an order of fresh milk, yogurt and cheese arrives at Seabird, enough for the Club’s 3 breakfast programs in the region. Kim manages and separates the order and arranges the distribution of the food products, ensuring there is absolutely no food waste in the process. Her students’ favourite breakfasts are yogurt & berries, and scrambled eggs with rice, but they’re most excited about Chef’s Special days when their meals are a creative surprise!

Shannon Rigby-Jones (aka Mrs. RJ), the Nutrition Teacher at AESS, works closely with Kim to ensure their students across both schools have what they need for a successful breakfast. Mrs. RJ has incorporated her high school students’ Nutrition classes into their daily breakfast program. These classes prepare hundreds of meals per week, from tropical overnight oats with pineapple, to yogurt and berry parfaits, and protein boxes featuring fresh veggies, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs. This school year, AESS has had to shift their program from a hot breakfast to a grab & go model to adapt to social distancing guidelines, but the good news is that with these new recipes, they are able to offer more meals than ever to their students throughout the day, and exercise creativity in the classroom by playing around with new flavour combinations every week.

“We are extremely grateful to The Breakfast Club, and BC Dairy Association for their generosity and on-going commitment and support of this very important project.  It ensures not only our children at Seabird, but children in surrounding communities as well are receiving the nutrition they need daily.” – Kim Smith