It was a joyful morning last month when Lord Roberts Annex marked the commencement of a breakfast club at the elementary school. Students and families came together for a celebratory kickoff, enjoying meals prepared by Breakfast Club of Canada and engaging in a learning session by Canada Learning Code. The initiative, led by school administrator Doug Park, Breakfast Club of Canada and sponsored by Amazon, ensures students are not entering the school day on an empty stomach. 

This is the first year that the Breakfast Club of Canada is offering a club at the school. The school’s administrator Doug Park had previously applied and this year Breakfast Club of Canada could provide the grant with a sponsorship from Amazon. 

Now through the grant’s funding, the school’s PAC and staff volunteers can facilitate the club, doing the shopping, choosing the menu, preparing, and serving food. Park is grateful to have this available for students, “in alignment with the VSB Education Plan, our Breakfast Club ensures that our school is a safe, caring, welcoming, and inclusive place for all our students and families.” 

The club will run every Thursday morning and the school will have a stocked kitchen for staff to support students throughout the day. Additionally, Breakfast Club of Canada has outfitted the Lord Roberts Annex kitchen with new appliances. To celebrate, students and their families were joined by staff from Breakfast Club of Canada, Canada Learning Code, and volunteers from Amazon. Breakfasts were prepared in individual paper bags for students and families to take and enjoy at communal tables. After breakfast, there was an educational session facilitated by Canada Learning Code, a charitable organization that brings accessible computer science to communities across Canada. 

For Park, hosting gatherings like this is particularly impactful as it brings the school community together, “families are responding very well because many are new to Vancouver.” Park points out, “without hosting events like this, it can be isolating and challenging for parents to connect with each other.” Thankfully, the family breakfast is not just limited to the day, a major gain for the school is weekly breakfasts for students and their families to come together.  

Breakfast Club Canada was excited to partner with Amazon to see the Breakfast Club at Lord Roberts Annex and provide nutritional breakfasts to the school. Taelyr Keeley, a program coordinator with Breakfast Club of Canada commented on how great it was to see everyone sharing a meal together and hearing the young students say, “it’s like a birthday party.” 

Doug Park reflects how this support benefits more than individual families, it affects the entire school community, “by coming at equity building from the point of community building means everyone is able to join these breakfasts.” He adds, “at school, we want to look at a way to build a community. Not just the kids, but the families; they can come to school and build relationship.”