In conversation with non-profit executive Patricia Phillips
Every day, more than 4,500 children in the Central Okanagan are at risk of going to school hungry. A local organization is working to combat this by providing free healthy breakfasts for children.
Patricia Phillips is the executive director of Hope for the Nations, a Kelowna-based organization that runs Food for Thought, a program that provided more than 54,000 breakfasts to local kids last year. COURIER: What is Food for Thought? PHILLIPS: It is a breakfast program that is in 29 schools within the Central Okanagan school district. Our involvement is on the fundraising side, the picking up of all the food, the packaging of it all and delivering it to the schools. Once it’s at the school level, the schools administer the actual program themselves. This program is feeding upwards of 1,600 kids per day within the Central Okanagan in elementary, middle and high schools.
COURIER: How are schools and students chosen to participate in the program?
PHILLIPS: We are 100 per cent open to any school. We wouldn’t turn a school away. Our goal is to keep it as low barrier as possible so that any child is able to access the program, so there is no registration process. If you’re hungry, come and eat. We’re trying to reduce the stigma surrounding hunger as well.
COURIER: What kind of children does this program benefit?
PHILLIPS: We have taken the stance that there’s lots and lots of reasons why kids come to school hungry.
It could be that they slept in, it could be their mom is a nurse and got off work at 7 a.m. and went straight to bed, or maybe you’re one of those children reflected in the poverty statistics and you’re just not getting enough at home.
COURIER: What impact does this program have on kids?
PHILLIPS: All the research points to as soon as a child isn’t being fed or if they’re hungry, they can’t learn. They’re having lower grades at school, there’s a lot more social problems . . . it’s hard for them to pay attention when they’re hungry. We’re just trying to make sure kids are starting their day with a full tummy.
COURIER: Hope for the Nations has also started a fruit preservation project in the Okanagan. What is that?
PHILLIPS: We used local fruit that was donated to make fresh preserves. We made up to 500 jars of jam and some frozen fruit. Some of our schools offer smoothies. We’re also going into apple season, and we’re going to make some apple sauce.
COURIER: Last spring, Hope for the Nations started a backpack program in Kelowna. What is this program?
PHILLIPS: It was a three-month program that was funded by the United Way at one of the schools in our community. Kids were identified at the school level who need extra support and we were providing a backpack full of food that they could take home with them.
We actually want to turn it into a pantry-type style where we fill the pantry with food items . . . and the children are able to access the pantry and put the foods they would like in their backpack. The idea behind that is choice, empowerment, dignity for the child and of course it reduces waste because not every kid likes the same thing. That’s something that we’re really looking at expanding this year.
COURIER: How many schools are you planning to expand the backpack program to?
PHILLIPS: We’re in one school, but we would like to expand that to an additional eight in our community. Ideally we’re hoping to raise some funds at our Christmas campaign and start in January if we can. It works out to be $600 per backpack per child for one school year.
COURIER: What has the response been like for all of these programs from parents and teachers?
PHILLIPS: We’ve had an excellent response. We’ve had teachers come back to us and say, ‘I’ve seen an improvement in marks overall, I’ve seen an improvement in behaviour in the classroom overall.’
COURIER: What is the goal with providing children with food at school?
PHILLIPS: At the end of the day, we know that we’re not solving the root cause of why kids are coming to school hungry . . . but basically what we’re trying to do is support the children. I’m a firm believer that if my child goes into the fridge or pantry at home and there’s no food, that’s not their problem. That’s not something that a young child can help themselves with. What we’re trying to do is give them the best start to their day and put some supports in place and really help raise awareness. There are a lot of really amazing programs in our community . . . and I consider Food for Thought one more piece to the puzzle of trying to support our community.
COURIER: What does it mean for you to be involved in this work?
PHILLIPS: I have three girls myself who attend three different schools in our community. To be part of being able to support what’s happening in our own backyard has been really amazing. It’s a really nice way for the local community to get involved and be able to give back in a really meaningful way. COURIER: How can people help? PHILLIPS: The main thing comes down to funding. Another thing would be volunteering. We have a pretty committed volunteer group, which we’re very thankful for. We definitely need some volunteers in the fruit preservation project through to the end of October. Anyone who loves making apple sauce, we need help.
For more information, go online to hopeforthenations.com.