A new school year begins on Tuesday, and Nourish Cowichan is already busy preparing breakfasts, lunches, and snacks to support the nutritional needs of students in the Cowichan Valley School District.
Executive Director Fatima Da Silva says they are still waiting for all schools to contact them concerning their needs, but expects Nourish Cowichan will help between 2,000 and 2,300 students during the coming year in SD79.
Da Silva says they’ve have been at work for two weeks already to prepare and deliver food for the schools that have reached out to them.
With the increasing number of students in need, and rising costs of supplies due to inflation, Da Silva says their expenditures this year could be $1.6-Million or higher.
She says they are constantly working to build partnerships with local businesses, but also with farmers, producers, and volunteers to help reduce their costs.
Da Silva says if people want to make a contribution there are many ways to help, and she urges people to reach out directly to them or donate via the Nourish Cowichan website and receive a tax receipt.
She says they are always looking for volunteers as the program continues to grow.
Da Silva says at this time of year they receive donations from farmers, businesses, and even people bringing in donations of vegetables from their own gardens or fruit from their trees, which she calls “really amazing to see.”
In addition to providing nutrition at schools where needed, Nourish Cowichan also has a weekend program which provides bags of non-perishable bags of food for students to take home. Da Silva says they provided 17,000 during the last school year.
Nourish Cowichan was conceived in the autumn of 2016 to help improve the nutrition of children living in poverty.
