HARRISTON – It’s hard for kids to learn if their stomachs are grumbling with hunger.
That’s why, Monday through Friday every week, principal Tim Dickieson and vice principal Tracy Phillips arrive at Minto-Clifford Public School (MCPS) bright and early to prepare breakfasts for over 400 students.
“Full bellies help kids learn,” Dickieson said of the program’s importance.
The breakfasts are offered to all of the school’s students, with bins of breakfast foods brought to each classroom every morning.
Some MCPS students spend more than an hour on the bus on the way to school, and others spend the morning at daycare before heading to school, Dickieson noted.
So even if they eat breakfast before leaving home in the morning, they may be hungry by the time they get to school.
“The kids need to be ready for learning,” Phillips said, and “if they’re hungry, they’re not ready to learn.”
The breakfast takes some pressure off parents too, she noted, who may be struggling to make ends meet.
Dickieson said enough food is prepared for each of the school’s 440 students, with enough leftovers to supplement lunches when needed.
They serve a range of food including at least three food groups each day and ensuring meals hit nutritional standards, with low sugar, low sodium, and whole grains, he noted.
The breakfasts include smoothies, parfaits, sandwhiches, and cheese strings, to name a few, he said.
The students are given opportunities to provide feedback about the food served, Dickieson said, noting they love cereals including Shreddies, Honeycomb and Cheerios.
Phillips does most of the work to make the breakfast program a success, and she’s good at making funds go a long way, Dickieson said.
The program is supported by the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington and corporate sponsors including President’s Choice.
The school raises 20 per cent of the cost of the program through fundraising initiatives and donations from community groups including local Lions, Legions, and the Harriston Masonic Lodge.
Lions’ donation
On Oct. 9, all four of the Clifford and District Lions visited the school to present a $180 donation in memory of late Lion Margaret Penfound, who died on July 26, at 86 years old.
“Margaret loved coming up here,” said Lions club president Judy Worsley.
Penfound was a Lions club member for 10 years, and always supported the school’s breakfast program, Worsley said, which is why her family decided to raise money for the initiative in her memory.
She lived in an apartment a few streets away from the school, and many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren were students there, as well as many of her friends’ grandchildren, Worsley said.
When Penfound visited the school, Worsley said students would often run up and say “hi Grandma,” even if they weren’t really her grandchildren.
Margaret Penfound, left, was a great supporter of the breakfast program at Minto-Clifford Public School, said Lions president Judy Worsley. Here, Penfound and Worsley present a cheque to principal Tim Dickieson in February, five months before Worsley’s death. Community News file photo
Margaret Penfound
Worsley knew Penfound well – they’ve travelled internationally together, including to Las Vegas, the Dominican Republic and Cornwall, England.
They also had a timeshare in Orlando, Florida, and often spent a week together in Collingwood, Ontairo.
They’re family, in a way – Penfound’s son was once married to Worsley’s daughter.
“I really miss her,” Worsley said, eyes shining with tears. “I loved her, and her kitty.”
Penfound was a big cat lover, Worsley said, and dearly loved her two cats, Thelma and Louise.
When Thelma had to be put down last fall, Worsley was there at the vet when Penfound got the news. Penfound was so upset she had to leave, and it was Worsley who stayed with the cat as she passed.
After Penfound died, Worsley adopted Louise, and she feels grateful to care for the cat as a way to keep Penfound’s memory alive in her home.
