School Breakfast Program

11,000 Ottawa children in 148 schools begin each school day with a nutritious meal provided by the School Breakfast Program.

Students who are given nutritious breakfasts daily make significant improvements in learning, school attendance, behaviour and self-esteem. The School Breakfast Program ensures that children in need have access to a healthy breakfast in a safe, supervised environment – to help each child start their day ready to learn.

As the lead agency, the Ottawa Network for Education coordinates funding from government sources (Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the City of Ottawa) local businesses, charitable foundations and generous individuals. Money for food, equipment, and program monitors is then distributed equitably to the four school boards.

The School Breakfast Program is open to all children and youth enrolled in one of the 148 participating schools. Students may be identified through school staff or parents. The philosophy of the program is that no child/youth is turned away.

The program supports all four Ottawa school boards:

• Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est
• Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de L’Ontario
• Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
• Ottawa Catholic School Board

History

Schools in the Ottawa community have been providing meals for children for many years. In 1990 a need was identified to create a more unified student nutrition program and local school boards agreed. With input from local educators and members of the community, the United Way/Centraide Ottawa, the Community Foundation of Ottawa and ONFE began working together to develop a regional school breakfast program.

The result is a unique partnership where schools, volunteers, community organizations and businesses come together to make the nutritional needs of children and youth a priority.

School boards continue to identify more children and youth in-need each year. In 1990, the program supported 1,000 students in 25 schools. Twenty-one years later approximately 11,000 students in 148 schools benefit from the support of the School Breakfast Program. That is over 2 million breakfasts every year!