Ready, Set, Snack: Nourishing Young Minds

As summer winds down and the new school year approaches, we want to highlight an important yet lesser-known program that aligns with our vision of a thriving, connected community where nourishing food is accessible and recognized as a basic human right.

The Depot’s Snack Program runs year-round, providing nutritious snacks to over 1,000 youth at six community centers and seven summer camps across NDG. ?More recently, in response to a growing need, the program expanded to include meal kits with the recipes and ingredients necessary for youth to prepare a complete meal. Through partnerships with organizations like Jeunesse Loyola and the YMCA, we provide consistent, healthy snacks that address hunger and build food literacy skills and community. We recently spoke with these two partners to better understand the impact of this program.

Jeunesse Loyola

Jeunesse Loyola has partnered with us since the program’s launch six years ago. Christine Richardson, Executive Director, shares that many kids arrive at their after-school program having eaten very little throughout the day. She adds that they also might not reliably have a filling dinner when they get home, whether that’s for lack of food or because their parents are working late shifts and they are too young to prepare a meal themselves. The partnership with The Depot has played an important role in meeting this need. She shared that the reliable food access has provided Jeunesse Loyola with a sense of security, and the uniformity of snacks ensures that no child feels singled out or embarrassed about needing a snack.

Christine adds that “The Depot has been proactive about supporting us as partners […]. The team thinks outside the box to adapt to emerging needs and challenges, whether it’s delivery logistics or food we can prepare without access to kitchen equipment.’’

The Snack Program also encourages children to engage in food preparation, cultivating a greater interest in healthy eating. Christine observes, “We have also seen the kids become more willing to try new foods and start to actually enjoy some of the healthy snacks they didn’t initially want to try. The Snack Program has also allowed our staff to experiment with food preparation and reflect on their own relationships with food.”

YMCA NDG

Galia Benatuil, Coordinator of TeenZones YMCA Notre-Dame-de-Grace and Westmount shared that the Snack Program plays a key role in providing essential snacks and meals, especially during their evening activities.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are a significant part of the snack offerings. It took participants some time to gravitate towards them as much as they did the homemade baked items. "We discovered that merely keeping vegetables in the fridge wasn’t sufficient," Galia explains. "When we started arranging and presenting them attractively, the kids chose them more often. It was a game changer!" This idea came from another participant during a bi-annual meeting with other centers in the snack program, where feedback is gathered and ideas are exchanged. We are proud to share that thanks to The Depot's efforts to expand the variety of fruits and vegetables available on the snack order form, and the centers' creative approaches to presenting them, fruit and veggie snack orders doubled between 2021 and 2023!

With a limited food budget, the YMCA relies on what they receive from The Depot to supplement their snacks and uses some of the ingredients in their weekly cooking program. Galia reflects, "It was amazing to see the kids use the kitchen so resourcefully.” She shares that preparing food together has become a cherished bonding activity, allowing the youth to explore new recipes and ingredients while fostering a strong sense of community. "Food connects the youth with the staff, the youth with the youth, and the YMCA with The Depot.’’

Looking Forward: Strengthening Our Partnerships

Both Jeunesse Loyola and the YMCA NDG see great potential for further growth in their collaborations with The Depot. Christine envisions acquiring additional storage space and kitchen equipment to maximize the benefits of the Snack Program. Meanwhile, Galia looks forward to more joint initiatives, like recipe-sharing sessions and cooking classes led by chefs, to deepen the youth's engagement with our work.

The Snack Program, of course, is limited in its community reach and we are committed to advocating for progressive public policies to support access to healthy food for all. We are an active member of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which is advocating for a national school food program.

The Depot and Coalition for Healthy School Food (Canada)

The Coalition For Healthy School Food, Canada’s largest school food network with over 330 non-profit member organizations and 144 endorsers from across the country, advocates for a universal, cost-shared school food program. This initiative aims to ensure all K-12 students have daily access to healthy food at school.

One of our proudest moments with the Coalition was this past June, when the Government of Canada announced its National School Food Policy, including a 1 billion dollar commitment over five years to launch a National School Food Program. For more information, you can visit their blog: https://www.healthyschoolfood.ca/post/release-of-the-national-school-food-policy

The Depot's Snack Program exemplifies the impact of consistent access to healthy food for young people. By supporting The Depot, you’re helping us respond to our community's immediate needs with care, while maintaining our more long-term goals of building community health and advocating for sustainable solutions to address food insecurity.