DRYDEN – Money from the Kenora District Services Board is helping hundreds of kids in the region get healthy food and beverages when school is out.
The KDSB announced this week that $49,839 from its Child Poverty Reduction Reinvestment Funding is going to the Northwestern Health Unit for its Nutrition on Weekends program, and another $10,000 to the Rotary Club of Kenora for the same program.
Rotarians deliver the program at schools in the city of Kenora while the health unit partners with other community groups to deliver the program at schools elsewhere, the health unit’s Stephanie Cran explained.
The program provides some much-needed immediate relief in a time of widespread food insecurity, she said Wednesday.
“The cost of eating in our region continues to rise and wages have not kept pace,” Cran said.
“Income-based solutions are needed to address food insecurity and poverty reduction in the long term,” she continued.
“However, community food programs such as Nutrition on Weekends can provide short-term relief for children and youth.”
Cran said the program, which gives food and beverage packages to schoolkids on Fridays, serves approximately 700 children and youth in the Kenora district.
The program has grown tremendously from its start as a pilot project in three schools in 2017-18, she said, and funding from the KDSB has been integral to its success.
The KDSB awarded $130,000 in Child Poverty Reduction funding Wednesday to 11 programs, including a food security and recreation program at the Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre and the Loonie Lunch program at Ignace Public School.
“The approved 2024 community partner applications promoted program and service ideas that will encourage the health and well-being of children and youth,” KDSB chair Fred Mota said in a news release from the board.
“The board recognizes the importance of the Child Poverty Reduction Reinvestment Funding program for children and youth in our communities to have equitable and improved everyday lives within the Kenora district,” Mota added.
Nutrition on Weekends is “a grassroots program” at dozens of schools that “looks a little bit different in each community,” Cran said from her Dryden office.
“But what the Northwestern Health Unit does is provide a guiding document to give some resources and guidance on how to run a program like this,” she said.
“And we also do funding applications to support expenses for the program, which is basically healthy food and beverages. And we also do some evaluation of the program as well, usually in June with the participants and partners.”
The program’s reach in the Kenora and Rainy River districts combined is more than 1,000 children and youth, she said.
