The Meaning of the Snack Program
It’s the people involved in E4C programs who can really describe the work we do. Below is an excerpt from a letter we received from a school in E4C’s Snack Program, the beneficiary of the proceeds from the Carrot Project. Read below to learn about the difference your donation and veggie bundle purchase will make.
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We take for granted, the incredible privilege of opening our pantries and refrigerators and selecting something to eat. We have all scanned for an item that would satisfy our craving, only to shut the door because we can’t find that one thing we…want. Unfortunately, such a moment is quite rate for some of our families. Many of them open their food stores only to discover bare necessities. Sometimes the volume of those bare necessities is for lack of a better term, bare.
Here at Spruce Avenue, we are very fortunate to be able to provide a healthy breakfast to our students. Milk and cereal, toast and fruit are common place amongst the students sitting in our hallways before school as they fill their empty bellies and share in some fellowship with one another. You can walk through the hallways and so easily forget the evidence that surrounds us: evidence of families in constant need, constantly struggling to make ends meet and provide healthy food choices for their children. Being very involved with the grocery purchasing in my own household, I can say without hesitation that it costs more to provide healthier food choices for a family, especially when it comes to fresh fruit and milk. The relief parents must feel when they know that their child is able to receive something as simple as fresh fruit in the morning to start their day must be…. I don’t even know what empathic words could effectively encapsulate this feeling and emotion. Instead, I will shed some light by sharing some small insight about a family that has set aside their pride and social hesitancy in order to communicate with the school about life at home.
John likes to hang out with friends in our halls before school. You will often see him sitting on one of our benches telling jokes with the three other boys he usually spends his free time with. He likes hockey and enjoys a good laugh. Having a conversation with John will lead you to believe he is a fairly typical young man that you might encounter here during our school day. However, he goes home to a life that is very different than yours and mine. Home life is a constant struggle to keep a roof over the family and food on their table. Often there is no money left for the extras that you and I might consider necessities: household cleaners, hygiene products, and clothes that fit. Yet, when John arrives at school, you can guarantee seeing him with a big smile as he selects his morning breakfast. His mom occasionally calls us here at school to ensure there is a morning breakfast, again sharing with us that there is very little to eat at home. Every time we assure her that John is starting his day off with a nice selection of healthy food here at school. As a parent, I can’t imagine the duress and quiet desperation experienced before dialling the phone for that call.
– Spruce Avenue School