North Okanagan schools are in urgent need of healthy food for students struggling with food security, and a local volunteer organization is making a push to help them out.
The Good Food Box ran a program to bring local food to local schools for three years, until grant funding ran out last school year.
Recently, local schools reached out to the organization with a plea to support struggling students, and The Good Food Box is now turning to the community to help bring the program back.
The goal is to raise $35,000 to provide 150 monthly boxes of local fruits and vegetables to schools for the 2024 school year.
The schools would then distribute the food to the families who need it most.
The Good Food Box Society is urging the business community to help ease the unfortunate situation with their donations and help young people grow healthy minds and bodies.
To donate and receive a tax receipt, go to goodfoodbox.ca and click on School Food Box Donations. Donations will be accepted until Jan. 8.
Good Food Box has been serving the North Okanagan for over 20 years, to help people have better access to high quality food, and as project advisor Jim Kimmerly says, “Local food is the best food.”
Kimmerly says nutrition has taken a hit as the cost of living puts a strain on families.
“If you look at what’s going on right now with the way the economy is, a lot of families, they’re putting quality off to the side because of price … and that trickles down to the kids,” Kimmerly said.
“When you get down to the level of kids, they’re growing minds and growing bodies, so they’re going to do better with higher quality food nutritionally.”
The food Good Food Box plans to provide to schools is just a small portion of what they provide overall.
“For December alone we’re probably going to do 1,200 to 1,400 food boxes,” Kimmerly said.
SilverStar Mountain Resort also has a campaign that will give the Good Food Box a “huge boost.”
SilverStar is hosting a Christmas light up event Saturday, Dec. 9, starting with the opening of a Christmas market at 3 p.m. and entertainment beginning at 5 p.m., with fireworks capping off the night at 7:30 p.m.
The Good Food Box will be at the SilverStar light up offering S’mores and collecting donations.
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