Like schools across Quebec, Verdun Elementary will be welcoming students back next week after what for many has been an unheard of 5 1/2 month break. Like most years, the Breakfast Club will be there to greet them. Kids will recognize the cheerful tag-team of Sue Purcell and Sheila Morrison who have coordinated the program there for several years. And that’s good, because so much else will be unfamiliar.
One of the biggest changes at VES this year is that the program will serve all 250 of the school’s students. Fees, which have always been modest, have been further reduced to a “suggested donation” of $20 from the families. this is Breakfast Club of Canada stepping up its game to make sure kids don’t go hungry during these challenging economic times.
That change goes hand-in-hand with another one: children won’t eat in a cafeteria space like the old SouthWest Mission, but in their classrooms. The role of the coordinators will be to plan weekly menus based on the pre-packaged foods they will receive from Breakfast Club of Canada.
“We’re not allowed to cook anything,” says Sheila, “not even toast.”
Breakfast Club will still provide well-balanced meals representing all food groups, but they will be cold breakfasts. It’s all of course in the interest of preventing an outbreak of Covid-19 in the schools.
Another part of Sue and Sheila’s job will be packing large plastic bins for delivery to each classroom. They are not allowed to have volunteers helping them out as the school tries to limit the number of people who come and go.
“The delivery guy can’t even come in,” Sheila says, “He will leave the order outside the front door.”
“We’ve been off so long,” Sheila said when asked how she and Sue were feeling about being back in a school environment during a pandemic, “you want to get back into a routine. And we love doing it, seeing people, having a purpose.”
Amy
SouthWest United is pleased to continue providing salary support to the VES Breakfast Club. In past years, we have given food donations but this year that is a no-no. Sheila and Sue will let us know if there is anything more we can do to help further down the road. Meanwhile, if you’re so inclined, the national organization, Breakfast Club of Canada, would be grateful to receive your donations, this year more than ever.