How Do You Like Them Apples?

At Breakfast Club of Canada, our priority in Quebec is to make sure that the more than 40,800 children and youth who rely on a school breakfast program get a healthy, balanced meal before classes start. So teaming up with the province’s apple growers, who take great pride in providing a delicious and locally produced source of nutrition, was a bit of a no-brainer!

We have been working closely with Pommes Qualité Québec, which represents Les Producteurs de pommes du Québec and the Association des emballeurs de pommes du Québec, to cater to these needs since 2002. This has translated to more than 250,000 apples served up every year.

Before the pandemic hit, volunteers would slice up apples in the morning, dipping them into a bowl of water and a hint of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. This year, however, an approach of this nature would clearly not be consistent with COVID-19 guidelines.

So we have worked with Pommes Qualité Québec to come up with another solution. After examining several options, we decided it would be best to distribute whole apples, only in smaller child-friendly sizes, to make them easier to handle and eat. As a result, more than 442,000 apples will be delivered to Quebec breakfast programs during the 2020–2021 school year in response to growing demand.

Our sincere thanks go out to our wonderful partners at Pommes Qualité Québec for this invaluable contribution, which will go a long way in helping children reach their full potential.

For more information about this “fruitful” initiative, we invite you to watch this video (only available in French), which follows the journey of an apple from the orchard to the hands of a group of eagerly awaiting kids!*

*Note that the video was made in 2018, well before the pandemic struck, which is why there are no physical distancing protocols in place.

Learn more about Pommes Qualité Québec here at www.lapommeduquebec.ca