A fundraising campaign called “Start Me Up” will be launched this weekend to help more Richmond students access free breakfast at school.
From Sept. 15 to 17, two COBS bakery stores in Richmond will donate one dollar for each loaf sold to the Breakfast Club of Canada, a non-profit organization serving thousands of children breakfast.
“One in five children in Canada go to school on an empty stomach each day,” said Ryan Baker, programs coordinator and analyst at Breakfast Club of Canada.
“We hope this campaign will push more people to know that (child hunger) is a national problem and there are kids going to school hungry.”
Currently, more than 50 students at four Richmond outreach schools are enjoying a free, daily breakfast funded by the club.
“We have staff preparing food like muffin, scrambled eggs, fruits to students every morning,” said Ruth Quirk, a youth worker at Horizons School.
“Students have better temperament when they have a full stomach. It’s also a good time for them to socialize and form a family atmosphere.”
Two more similar Richmond schools, with a total of 125 students, are currently on the waiting list of the breakfast program, according to Baker.
The two bakeries aim to raise at least $2,000 this year, which gives 10 students breakfast for a year.
One thousand dollars has already been received through in-store donations.
“We tell our customers one dollar can give a child breakfast for a day, $5 for a week and $20 for a month,” said Michael Wong, manager of Richmond Centre COBS Bread.
The two branches also give bread to Cook and General Currie elementaries for student breakfasts.
"We hope by 2020, Canada will have a universal breakfast program for all the students and no one has to start school with an empty stomach,” said Baker.
The Breakfast Club of Canada helps feed 203,852 students every day in 1,598 schools across Canada, including 8,100 kids here in B.C.
