The New Westminster school district’s lunch program just got a big boost.
The district received a $45,000 grant from the Vancouver Sun Children’s Foundation’s Adopt-a-School initiative to help cover the rising costs its Fuel Up program.
The district works with Simply Foods to offer daily lunches in all elementary and middle schools.
Families receive a monthly menu featuring a different selection of hot and cold options each day, and they can opt in to as many lunches as they choose. Full and partial subsidies are available when needed, but the majority of families pay full price for the meals – with 25 cents from the price of a small entrée and 50 cents from the price of a large entrée going towards the cost of subsidies.
The goal is to provide stigma-free meals for everyone; students in a classroom don’t know whose meals are subsidized and whose aren’t.
Over the past year, the district has seen a big increase in the number of families ordering meals – but the increase in full-price meals hasn’t been enough to cover the increase in subsidized orders.
The district found itself short about $100,000 in the amount needed to cover the subsidies – money that has to come out of its operating budget.
Superintendent Karim Hachlaf said the grant, plus donations that have come in from individuals and community organizations, will help to offset that cost for the rest of the school year.
“Looking forward, we do see a need to revisit our budget and actually create a larger pool and a larger budget, ultimately, to make sure that we can meet those subsidies year to year,” Hachlaf said at the Feb. 22 board meeting.
He told trustees the issue will be discussed during trustee workshops and discussions around the 2022/23 budget.
He confirmed that no family requiring subsidies misses out.
How to donate to the Fuel Up program
Anyone who wants to make a donation to help the lunch program can do so via the New Westminster school district's School Cash Online portal. Use the pull-down menu to designate the donation to "Fuel Up School Nourishment Program."
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca.
