Calgary Meals on Wheel
“The teaching staff witness regularly how this program benefits our student body. Hungry students are not able to perform to their best ability, so with added nutritional support programs, our educators are able to see academic results in a positive sense.”
Since 1965 Calgary Meals on Wheels has served many Calgarians with nutritious,
affordable meals. In 2021 alone this meant that almost one million meals were
provided to vulnerable members of our community. But did you know that today
Calgary Meals on Wheels serves beyond our adult population, even to children in
schools?
Beginning in 2000, in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education and the
Catholic School District, Calgary Meals on Wheels has been working to change the
reality that some children are attending school with no lunch. Twice a week,
Calgary Meals on Wheels delivers a nutritious hot soup lunch to 13 elementary
schools that have been identified by their Boards as having vulnerable students.
Many of the children in these schools have been identified as having difficult
personal situations, poor nourishment and various family stresses.
There is no cost to the students, their families or the school for the Meals on
Wheels Hot Soup Program. The soup is prepared in large batches by Calgary
Meals on Wheels staff and is delivered by van in carafes to the schools involved,
every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the school year. School staff ladle the
soup into bowls for any students who wish to enjoy hot soup and a bun or
crackers for lunch that day. The Hot Soup Program affords the children at least
one healthy meal that day giving the child the energy required to participate,
concentrate and learn in school. Affirms one school staff member, “The teaching
staff witness regularly how this program benefits our student body. Hungry
students are not able to perform to their best ability, so with added nutritional
support programs, our educators are able to see academic results in a positive
sense.”
Having focused on responding to children’s basic needs throughout 2022, CHAS is
proud to have donated $5,000 to the Calgary Meals on Wheels Hot Soup Program.
In fact, CHAS has donated a total of $16,500 to this program since 2016.
To learn more about the work of Calgary Meals on Wheels, we invite you to check out
their website: http://www.mealsonwheels.com