At one Saskatoon high school, students who once went hungry or chose from a fast-food value menu are now starting their day off with nutritious breakfasts, and gaining valuable work skills while they’re at it.
Through the national Breakfast for Learning program, kids of all abilities at E.D. Feehan High School make breakfast, lunch and snacks for any member of the student body who wants to grab a bite.
The program has transformed the school’s food preparation area from a spot to grab a bagel to a fully-equipped and frequently used kitchen.
Students with special intellectual and physical needs learn important kitchen skills in a real world setting with the program, while students in the commercial cooking class earn food safety certificates to help them earn their first jobs.
At the end of the lessons, the food feeds what they call their Feehan family — other students who might otherwise not have a nutritious lunch.
Principal Brandon Stroh says hunger and a lack of proper nutrition is a social problem his students deal with all year round.
“If you have a student who is not hungry, you're not going to have discipline issues because they are not ornery or angry,” Stroh says.
Feehan does not have a budgeted nutrition program, and Stroh says Breakfast for Learning wouldn’t be possible without the program’s organizers and the many adults who volunteer their time.
He says students have really embraced the program.
“They're excited to be here,” Stroh explains. “It's a warm, safe place with food, and with engaging teachers, people who want to care about them.”
Grade nine student Josh Dawes volunteers in the kitchen. He’s cooking for more than just school credit.
“When I go into there, there's not many people because it's only 7:30 [a.m.],” Dawes says. “By about eight, or quarter to eight, we've got a whole lineup of people waiting to get breakfast.”
While the bagels are still pretty popular, with the help of Breakfast for Learning, the students at E.D. Feehan are also grabbing yogurts, vegetables and healthier carbs, like banana muffins.
For several students, the meals from the commercial cooking curriculum are the healthiest part of their diet, and the adults who volunteer say the program is working. Hungry students are now able to grab a bite and go – without asking for a handout.
