Saskatoon non-profit organization continues making lunches for “food-insecure” children and families

Even though children aren’t in school right now, a Saskatoon organization is still helping them with access to nutritious meals.

CHEP Good Food is a non-profit organization that buys food in bulk, then prepares it for a fraction of what it would cost to buy food at retail prices. It also runs community gardens, fresh food markets for seniors, and holds cooking workshops for those who want to learn.

The company has been providing brown bag lunches for students in Saskatoon at dozens of schools for nearly 30 years. Many of those schools don’t have established food programs.

Now, since school isn’t in session, interim executive director Jean Goerzen says they’re trying to identify where the need is in the community through teachers and other non-profit groups.

“We wanted to continue preparing these lunches and so we started distributing them through the Friendship Inn, earmarked for kids,” she explained.” It’s really a fast-changing situation that we’re in. So now, White Buffalo Youth Lodge is picking them up and delivering them to families throughout the city.”

150 brown bag lunches were made for children last week alone.

Goerzen says if there are food-insecure kids at school, there are food-insecure families as well. So it’s necessary to try to address the whole family. They’re in the process now of trying to get information on how many of those families there might be in the city.

“The community school coordinators at schools throughout Saskatoon – they know who the food-insecure families are, and they are certainly learning more about it, now that they’re back on the job.”

The intention moving forward she explains, is to put together boxes for families, so they can prepare lunches for a whole family – not just the child, for a minimal cost.

Each lunch includes a piece of fruit, a protein-based sandwich made from whole wheat bread, and a bag of fresh-cut vegetables.

A box for an average family of four might include bread, eggs, a pantry item, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables including root vegetables.

The cost per family depends on the size. It can range from $10 to $40, and a “pay it forward” option has been created for anyone wanting to donate to the program. Delivery will be no-contact.

More information on the program can be found here.