MISSISSAUGA, ON and BOUCHERVILLE, QC – Breakfast Club of Canada and Danone Canada are thrilled to announce a significant commitment to give children across Canada an equal chance of success. Danone Canada, one of the Club’s founding partners, has announced a new commitment to donate $1,200,000 over the next 5 years to support the opening new school breakfast programs in communities where the need is greatest.
According to the most recent data on food insecurity, as well as projections related to access to school food programs, Breakfast Club of Canada estimates that one in three children is at risk of starting their school day on an empty stomach. For Indigenous children, this figure rises to one in two children.
“Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in attendance and in the need for additional breakfast programs,” explained Tommy Kulczyk, General Manager of Breakfast Club of Canada. “We believe that helping children get the energy they need to learn is a shared responsibility and are truly grateful for the relationship we have built with Danone Canada, which shares our commitment to put children first. Twenty-five years of partnership is a significant milestone, and we look forward to many more years of collaboration with such an exceptional partner.”
Danone Canada’s commitment will initially help Breakfast Club of Canada reach an additional 1,000 children every day. The following four schools will immediately benefit from new breakfast programs and additional schools will follow in 2022 and subsequent years:
- Sam Pudlat School Elementary School, Cape Dorset, Nunavut;
- Kisemattawa School, Shamawattawa, Manitoba;
- Gift Lake School, Gift Lake Metis Settlement, Alberta; and
- Mistassiniy School, Desmarais, Alberta
Danone Canada has been dedicated to helping children since 1996, when it first partnered with Breakfast Club of Canada, an organization that shares its commitment to nourishing lives and fighting food insecurity. In addition to financial contributions, Danone Canada employees collectively volunteer to serve 38,000 nutritious breakfasts every year.
In 2021, the company will surpass a cumulative 25 million individual product unit donations in support of Breakfast Club of Canada’s quest to ensure that children from coast-to-coast-to-coast begin their day with a healthy, balanced breakfast.
“Danone’s mission to bring health through food has never been more important,” stated Dan Magliocco, Danone Canada’s president. “As a Certified B Corp, we are committed to using our business as a force for good, and there is no better way to do so than to help bring healthy breakfasts to children. We look forward to building upon our longstanding relationship with Breakfast Club of Canada as we strive for a healthier world in which all children can reach their full potential.”
About Breakfast Club of Canada
Accredited by Imagine Canada for its effective governance, the Club provides much more than breakfast: its approach is based on commitment, self-esteem and capacity development using an optimal formula adapted to local needs. Breakfast Club of Canada helps feed more than 500,000 children and youth in over 3,000 programs in academic and community settings across the country.
For more information about Breakfast Club of Canada, visit www.breakfastclubcanada.org, Facebook (@BreakfastClubDejeuner), Twitter (@ClubDejeuner) or Linkedin.
About Danone Canada
Danone Canada is a business unit of Danone and operates from head offices in Boucherville, Quebec, and Mississauga, Ontario. Danone Canada is the country’s largest consumer-facing Certified B Corporation®, demonstrating that the company meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Danone Canada’s ambition is to produce healthful dairy, plant-based products and coffee creamers and beverages, create economic and social value, and nurture natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Its portfolio of brands includes Activia®, Oikos®, DanActive®, Danone®, Silk® plant-based foods and beverages, So Delicious® Dairy Free, StokTM, International DelightTM and more.
