Toonies for Tummies
Local Metro Stores Recognized for Supporting Student Nutrition Programs Through Toonies for Tummies Fundraiser – Northumberland View, Classic Rock 107.9/My FM 93.3 in Cobourg-Port Hope
(NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY) – Put enough toonies together, and they quickly add up to become a windfall for local student nutrition programs.
Northumberland Food For Thought is recognizing the Metro grocery stores in Port Hope and Cobourg for organizing the recent Toonies for Tummies campaign in this area. In February, shoppers at both Metro locations were asked to donate $2 to help ensure local students had enough to eat to learn at school. The net result of Metro’s fundraising efforts is a donation of $3,025 to support student nutrition programs at schools in the Port Hope and Cobourg area.
The local Toonies for Tummies fundraising effort was part of a larger Ontario-wide campaign of the same name organized by The Grocery Foundation. In total across the province, Toonies for Tummies raised more than $600,000 to help support student nutrition programs which are available to more than 800,000 Ontario students.
“We appreciate the generosity of the local Metro stores and their shoppers for helping to ensure students in the Port Hope and Cobourg area have the food they need to succeed in school,” says Beth Kolisnyk, the Community Development Coordinator with Northumberland Food For Thought.
Northumberland Food For Thought is the non-profit partnership that coordinates the 47 student nutrition programs in the area. Student nutrition programs are based in schools across the region, with some offering a full sit-down breakfast before school starts, and others consisting of snack bins delivered to each classroom. These programs are free and voluntary, and provide food to thousands of students every day in Northumberland.
Local student nutrition programs also receive financial support from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services through its lead local agency, the Peterborough Family Resource Centre.
Research shows student nutrition programs can help support student academic success by removing a major obstacle – hunger – to learning, Kolisnyk adds.
To support or find out more about Northumberland Food For Thought and local student nutrition programs, call (905) 372-5071.