Keeping kids' bellies full

Food For Thought from Solid Rock Video on Vimeo.

In the Central Okanagan, 4,500 children head to school hungry every day, but Hope for the Nations is looking to change that.

Hope for the Nations, an international children's NGO that operates in Kelowna, started the Food for Thought program in 2009 to help combat hunger in local schools by running a breakfast program.

Last year it operated in twenty nine School District 23 schools and helped over 1,600 students. Last school year, thanks to donations from community partners and local businesses, Food for Thought was able to provide over 54,000 breakfasts throughout the year.

“It’s been an amazing program to launch and see almost immediate results in local schools,” said Patricia Phillips, Executive Director of HOPE.

“As a mother and a part of the Kelowna community and surrounding area, I think it’s important that we come together to help support initiatives like this. Children have enough challenges in today’s cultural climate that food shouldn’t have to be an added stress, and one that we’re hoping to help remove," Phillips added.

In addition to the breakfast program, Food for Thought will also be launching the Backpack Program.

The program has students receiving food in a backpack that they can take home for the weekend. The program runs on a choice-based model where students select the food they want and it ensures they don’t go hungry over the weekend.

Hope for the Nations has received local funding from the President Choice Children’s Charity, the City of Kelowna, and the Central Okanagan Foundation for the current school year.

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