General Mills, Walmart Canada, business women among those thanked by Breakfast Club of Canada

Breakfast Club of Canada (BCC) wishes to thank all its generous donors and partners. While the pandemic is having a major impact on the economy and business activities, the support shown to BCC has not diminished. This support is needed more than ever as food insecurity continues to rise, motivating the Club to set the most ambitious campaign goal in its 25-year history: $10 million. Thanks to its loyal donors and partners, Breakfast Club of Canada succeeded in raising a record $11.7 million to fight food insecurity that affects more than 2 million children in the country every day.

“We are honoured to have the support of Canadians as more and more families, businesses and organizations face problems in the current situation,” acknowledged BCC General Manager Tommy Kulczyk. “We want to take this opportunity to thank our generous donors who, like us, make children’s health, nutrition and education a priority.”

The funds raised will go to support the 250,000 children who use breakfast programs across the country and help meet ever-growing demand, which translates to one in three children arriving hungry at school every morning. Complying with the measures set forth by public health authorities has resulted in a significant increase in costs, especially costs related to food. Despite the record amount collected, these funds will not be enough to meet the need, given the huge impact of the pandemic on the household finances of Canadians, families in particular.

To ensure that the nutritional needs of children are met, the Club works to raise awareness among the country’s policy-makers, advocating for them to make children’s nutrition a priority. Asserting the needs and rights of children is especially important, given that Canada is the only G7 country not to have a national school food program. BCC represented Canada this week at the Global Child Nutrition Forum, stressing the urgency of implementing such a program.

To help establish solid foundations on which to build a national school food program, the Club is rallying financial allies from all spheres of activity. BCC is thankful for all of the financial donations and commitments received to support our mission and would like to acknowledge the following major donors for their generosity during this back-to-school campaign:

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Air Canada Foundation
Amazon Canada
belairdirect
Staples Canada/Bureau en gros
General Mills
NexGen Energy Ltd
Rio Tinto
Save-On-Foods
The Royal Canadian Mint
Walmart Canada

Lending their voices and influence, six businesswomen dedicated to children’s academic success and nutrition were part of a newly created campaign cabinet. The Club thanks them for their invaluable contributions to the campaign:

Joan Kelley Walker, Chair of the BCC Back-to-School Campaign Cabinet; Journalist, Philanthropist and Host
Shelley Mayer, Founder and President, Ramp Communications
Gail Nyberg, former Executive Director, Daily Bread Food Bank
Anne Fortin, Senior Vice President of Direct Distribution and Chief Marketing Officer, Intact Financial Corporation
Isabelle Rayle-Doiron, Vice-President, Public Affairs, and General Counsel, Danone
Brett Clapperton, Director, Community Investment and LBG Canada, SiMPACT Strategy Group

About Breakfast Club of Canada – Accredited by Imagine Canada for its effective governance, the Club provides much more than breakfast: its approach is based on commitment, self-esteem and capacity development using an optimal formula adapted to local needs. Breakfast Club of Canada helps feed more than 257,000 children and youth in 1,887 schools across the country. To learn more, visit breakfastclubcanada.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. #FeedKidsNow #EndChildHunger #StopChildHunger #BacktoSchool2020