Feed the Meter proceeds to feed thousands of students

Students at Prince of Wales Public School in Belleville enjoyed breakfast snacks as results of the 2015 Food for Learning campaign were announced Tuesday. Photo by Rachel Stark, QNet News

By Rachel Stark

BELLEVILLE – Generous people who fed the meter even when they didn’t have to during this past holiday season have helped keep local schoolchildren from going hungry.

The 2015 Feed the Meter campaign in downtown Belleville, Trenton and Picton raised a record amount for the Food for Learning program, which ensures students have access to food and snacks during the school day.

Signs in downtown Belleville, Trenton and Picton over the holidays invited motorists to feed the meter to support the food program for local schools. QNet News File Photo

A total of $29,163 was raised. During the month of December, parking downtown in Belleville, Trenton and Picton was free, with the option of donating money to the campaign instead. Feed the Meter is a project of the Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation. The foundation is a partner of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board.

The money was presented at Prince of Wales Public School in Belleville on Tuesday morning, with the three local mayors – Taso Christopher of Belleville, Jim Harrison of Quinte West and Robert Quaiff of Prince Edward County – participating.

“You should never assume everyone comes to school with the same lunch bag,” said Harrison. “That’s a very bad assumption.”

The 2015 campaign reached just shy of its $30,000 goal, but organizers said it was the most successful year yet.

“The support that we get from the communities is phenomenal,” said Geoffrey Cudmore, chair of the foundation board.

The money will be distributed throughout local schools so all students have access to food.

“If they feel they need a breakfast, they can have a breakfast. There’s no stigma, no judgment attached. It’s simply that having breakfast is important,” Cudmore said.

Cassandra Windsor, the principal of Prince of Wales school, said food is always on hand for students.

“We try to have many healthy options on a daily basis,” said Windsor. “All of our classrooms have apples and snack baskets supplied daily.”

Maribeth deSnoo, executive director of the learning foundation, said the community is often surprised to hear the amount of food insecurity there is in the surrounding area.

“We continue to have the second-highest rate of food insecurity in the entire province,” deSnoo said.

With the community’s support, deSnoo said, the program has been able to serve almost a million meals to over 14,000 students in the past year.