The Ontario Student Nutrition Program (OSNP) London serves hundreds of children in the area to ensure that they attend school well nourished and ready to learn. They believe in a universal program, meaning one open to all students as there are many reasons why children and youth arrive at school without eating breakfast other than household food insecurity. This also includes, but not limited to:

• Early morning extracurricular activities,
• Lack of time in the morning,
• Lack of appetite upon rising,
• Long commutes to school,
• Getting ready on their own in the morning,
• Preferring to eat breakfast with their peers, and/or
• They’re growing and just hungry . . . again!

Since Covid19 hit the area, they are just as busy as ever diverting funds to the community resource centers for food security work. Each center was providing breakfast bags or food boxes to families to help with the crisis.

 

They have been handing out 75 produce boxes in different priority neighborhoods each week. These boxes are valued at $20, and each week they have also been including an extra such as cereal, gift cards, etc. This started in May and went until the end of July.

 

They have been working with Growing Chefs London to produce and distribute frozen dinners for families. Each week 40 families in the community receive a frozen meal, delivered and prepared with local ingredients. This will continue right through the end of August.

 

They worked with the TVDSB for 3 weeks to hand out vegetable seedlings to children as a food literacy component. Over 500 seedlings where distributed, as well as 10 school community gardens planted.

 

Finally, they are working to apply to United Way to support a new initiative for September that will see breakfast bags made up and delivered to schools each week. These will replace traditional shopping, and allow each child 3 food groups in their bag. This will support schools 3 days per week.

 

The Jackson Group feels very strongly that organizations like this play such an important role in our community. We can think of very few things more heart-breaking than a child having to go to school hungry, day-after-day due to their social circumstances.