Increasingly busy lifestyles over the last 25 years have turned breakfast into more of a sprinkled doughnut at a Tim Horton’s drive-through than a sit down meal at home.
However, a 4-H club in western Manitoba is trying to reverse that trend and ensure that breakfast remains children’s most important meal of the day.
The Binscarth 4-H club started a breakfast program in January at the town’s elementary school. Volunteers and 4-H members serve pancakes, eggs, toast and other morning food to 60 schoolchildren two days per week.
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The breakfast initiative, called Project Pitstop, has been a tremendous success, said Logan Pizzey, 16, one of the 4-H members who launched the program.
“You go in and see the kids, they’re happy and laughing and having a good time…. It’s really rewarding.”
The program is targeted at children who aren’t coming to school with a full stomach, said Adele Pizzey, Logan’s mother and the 4-H club’s head leader.
“It’s a proven fact that a balanced breakfast (leads to) a better education,” she said.
The breakfast is available to all of the school’s 90 students, she added.
Logan, his sister, Amy, and the two dozen other members of the Binscarth 4-H club came up with the idea for the Pitstop program about six months ago.
Last fall, Cargill told 4-H clubs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota that it would commit up to $2,500 for community projects connected to health and nutrition, the environment or education.
The Binscarth members produced a video explaining the breakfast club concept. The company responded with $2,500 to fund the project from January to June this year.
“I think what gained them favour with Cargill is that they targeted all three areas with their project,” Adele said.
The health and nutrition component of the breakfast program was easy, but the Binscarth 4-H club also created posters and signs about healthy eating and the various food groups and posted them at the school.
As well, members covered the environment by serving breakfast on real dishes rather than paper or plastic.
All of the club members have been involved in the project, Adele said. Some have helped prepare and serve breakfast, others have washed dishes and others have made signs and organized fun events for students such as racing remote control cars.
Providing children with a healthy start is hopefully making a difference each day, Adele said, but the long-term goal is to impart the value of breakfast and healthy eating habits.
Cargill is providing an additional $2,500 to allow the project to continue at the school next fall.
Adele said the 4-H club, the community and the school plan to raise funds for a dishwashing machine that will allow volunteers to focus on other tasks, such as baking muffins or scrambling eggs for the breakfast program.
