A summertime snack program for local youth is back at numerous community hubs this summer, and this year’s program is shaped to give kids more choices.
The Sharing Place’s “Build a Bag” program brings a variety of grain, dairy, fruit, and vegetable options for local youth, who are able to select 10 different items per bag once per week.
The program began July 4, and local youth can pick up a snack at any of the following locations throughout the summer:
- The Sharing Place Food Centre
- The Orillia, Severn, and Ramara public libraries
- Brechin municipal building
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia
- Orillia Youth Centre
- Select Orillia City Camps through the summer
Throughout the school year, Sharing Place programs support more than 4,500 students across 23 local schools per day.
Chris Peacock, the executive director of the Sharing Place, said many local families rely on its programs — a need that doesn’t end when the final school bell rings in June.
“The cost of living continues to go up,” Peacock told OrilliaMatters. “When your kids are being sent to school … parents do have that ability to send them to the student nutrition program.”
“It is a massive deal to families that depend on that program, throughout the summer, because now their kids are at home, and they ravage through the cupboards,” he said. “And parents are in a really difficult position for a two-and-a-half month process where they can’t afford food for their families, so this hopefully will help.”
In the program’s first week, 452 snack bags were given to local youth.
“That's just the initial week — as we advertise that the snacks are available, we anticipate that that number will only increase,” said program coordinator Nancy Hannah.
Now in its third year, previous iterations of the summer snack program saw the Sharing Place dispensing pre-packaged snack bags.
Under the new model, spearheaded by Hannah, the Sharing Place distributes bulk items to community hubs, which makes the program more efficient.
“We essentially just buy in bulk, and then ship the quantity of items that each individual partner has requested,” he said. “They are the ones that break it down and distribute, so it's easier to run, and it's probably, hopefully, meeting the needs more for those that are accessing it.”
Beyond that, the revised program gives kids the ability to choose.
“It reduces potential waste where individuals might be allergic, or (the food) might not be culturally appropriate, or they just might not like it,” Peacock said. “Now they can specifically pick what they want, which is a big deal in the (way) of wasting food that may not get to where it needs to go, and then, too, it’s just giving the autonomy to the kids.”
The program will be easily accessible to youth at all of its community locations, Hannah said.
“All of the locations will have a table in an area that is frequented by the youth that are accessing that program, which instructions on the table and the basket of food on the table,” she said. “The bags are there, and kids are just invited to access the snacks.”
Peacock added the Sharing Place is currently looking for volunteers. More information on how to volunteer may be found here.
