Hugo Wong/B次元官网网址 staff

ItB次元官网网址檚 morning at Sidney Elementary and staff are busy preparing healthy breakfasts for students.

Principal Tom Vickers says a smoothie and something hot like oatmeal is there for any child who requests it. He estimates that without the program, about 25-30 children would go to school hungry, but he said there are also about 15-20 who B次元官网网址渆njoy coming in and having a smoothie and hanging out with their friends.B次元官网网址�

In the past Sidney elementary has had a breakfast program with donated baked goods but Vickers said that those options were not as healthy as they could be. For kids that can have some kind of breakfast in the morning, it might not necessarily be healthy, though Vickers said that nutrition value is not always up to families when they use food banks.

B次元官网网址淚n fairness to our families, often the things theyB次元官网网址檙e getting from the food bank are those items that arenB次元官网网址檛 the healthiest options. TheyB次元官网网址檙e the white breads, theyB次元官网网址檙e carbo-loaded. Our families are doing the best they can, but the things theyB次元官网网址檙e getting arenB次元官网网址檛 the healthiest options.B次元官网网址�

Instead, Vickers said kids at Sidney elementary are taught to make a B次元官网网址渞ainbow on their plate,B次元官网网址� and these lessons are reinforced when kids maintain the school garden, which he calls B次元官网网址減robably the most developed school garden in the district.B次元官网网址�

Both the breakfast program and the gardenB次元官网网址檚 irrigation system were funded by a donation from Holmes Realty, who decided they would donate $50 per home sold to a charity chosen once a year. In the past, the group have supported causes like the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation, the Our Place breakfast program and local sports. A few years ago, the group decided to support a local school, so they called the school board to see where their money would do the most good, and Sidney Elementary was their answer.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the reasons we wanted to do local charities is that they donB次元官网网址檛 have the big budgets that some of the larger more international ones have, and they often get missed as far as philanthropy goes,B次元官网网址� said David Parry, real estate agent and office manager.

Last year, Holmes Realty donated $12,000 which built a kitchen inside the school and bought food for the breakfast program. A $14,500 donation this year partly went to the gardenB次元官网网址檚 irrigation system, which saved families from spending three hours a day maintaining the garden during the summer.

This year they have chosen to split the donation between Sidney Elementary and the ORCCA dental program, which provides not-for-profit dental care to children from low-income families (which is housed in an annex of Sidney Elementary).

B次元官网网址淪idney elementary school and Tom Vickers have been really great working alongside us and coming to us with projects that they need help with. TheyB次元官网网址檝e been great to work with,B次元官网网址� said Deanna Kirk.