Hundreds of golden-clad high schoolers occupied 17 subway stations across the city this week to collect cash for hungry students in Toronto and school board staff will take over Yonge Street today.
The eager volunteers, standing out in bright yellow Feeding Young Minds t-shirts, were participating in the TTC Take Over Days during the 4 to 6 p.m. rush hours on Tuesday, Oct. 5 and Thursday, Oct. 7. The collections were part of a week-long list of fundraising events supported by almost 100 public schools across the city and organized by the Toronto District School Board's arms-length charitable arm, the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS)."We know in Toronto that 41 per cent of the kids, right across the city including (in) middle class schools, are coming to school without breakfast," explained Catherine Parsonage, CEO of TFSS. "But in our less affluent communities, that number goes as a high as 68 per cent of the children. International research has shown us that hungry children are not learning as well. We know that if they have breakfast, they do better in reading, they do better in writing, we know that they behave better. Anyone that has a child knows what happens when they're hungry. So having a healthy breakfast every day sets up our children so they're ready and able to learn in a classroom."While secondary school students raised money in the TTC, many elementary schools hosted a Quiznos luncheon during the week, from which one dollar from every lunch ordered goes to TDSB student nutrition programs at schools in need.The TFSS is ending the week with a large celebration entitled Wrap It Up Toronto!, sponsored by Canada Bread and Maple Leaf Foods, Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Yonge and Dundas Square. Entertainment will include free performances from Miles Jones and Arlene Paculan, a local strongman will attempt to pull a large school bus across the square, and the TDSB's director Chirs Spence and the Hoops4Hope charity team will shoot for cash in a basketball challenge."The story of hungry children coming to school is sad," said Parsonage. "But the work that our kids are doing, students right across the system, the volunteerism, the effort, the leadership, that's a joyous thing."The TFSS is an umbrella arm that distributes municipal and provincial funding and private donations to community-based partners that are running more than 600 breakfast, lunch and snack programs in schools, comunity centres and church basements for 107,000 students. A full 100 per cent of the money it raises for nutrition programs goes directly to feeding hungry children, says TFSS.However, government funding only covers about half of the money needed for those food programs with parental donations covering another 20 per cent, leaving "a huge funding gap," said Parsonage.That results in the agency's partners having to skimp on the quality of foods they can give to students. "Perhaps students don't have milk, sometimes they don't have fresh fruit," she said.And those are the nutritious products that need to be given to students to tackle rising obesity rates among Toronto's students, she added."People that are in low income communities, where obesity rates are the highest cannot afford to buy healthy food," she explained. "They can't afford to spend three dollars on four apples, they can't afford to have milk, whole grain bread products, the boneless chicken breasts (which) are low fat."The result is that poorer parents are buying inexpensive foods like macaroni and cheese or frozen french fries which are high in sodium and fat, said Parsonage. "They're buying whatever will fill up the tummies of their children."To donate, visit www.studentsuccess.ca