The St. Robert's Snack Program - running for 7 years.
Their program serves a healthy snack consisting of 2 food groups to the entire
school population of 260 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
St. Robert’s snack program runs in the mornings from 9 to 11:30am.
They have labelled snack baskets for each classroom
that are prepared and delivered before morning recess.
Students return the baskets when the class is done and volunteers
do all the cleaning and prep work for the next snack day.
Hectic morning routines, early sports practices, long bus rides and financial difficulties can all prevent students from arriving to school nourished and ready to learn. We believe that every student can benefit from having access to nutritious food at school and that these programs should be open to everyone.  

What is the Ontario Student Nutrition Program?
The Ontario Student Nutrition Program (OSNP) provides funding and a network of support to help schools across the province implement a healthy snack, breakfast or meal program for students in their community. The funding is funnelled through the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and goes to 15 Lead Agencies across the province. In Southwestern Ontario, the lead agency is The Victorian Order of Nurses.

What is the Children’s Nutrition Network Partnership?
The Children’s Nutrition Network (CNN) is the local contact group for the Student Nutrition Program across London and Middlesex County. A nutrition co-ordinator works directly with local programs and the community to raise funds, awareness and to support 74 nutrition programs in the London area. The CNN is directly affiliated with Investing in Children and in partnership with: Middlesex-London Health Unit, MayCourt Club, City of London, London District Catholic School Board, Thames Valley District School Board and Cooking for Kids/London InterCommunity Heath Centre. 

How do we support programs?
  • assist with the start up of new programs.
  • access additional funding through the ministry and other local funding sources.
  • support a community-wide network of schools and agencies that provide programs, resource materials and training workshops for local programs and volunteers .

Why are we so committed to student nutrition programs?
  • Childhood obesity rates are rising at an alarming rate. 1 in every 3 children aged 7-13 in Canada is considered either overweight or obese (Tremblay, 2000).
  • Skipping breakfast only increases the risk of being overweight or obese.
  • Only 14% of children between the ages of 9-12 are consuming 4 or more of the recommended 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2002).

Major Partners
  • Ministry of Children and Youth Services
  • Cargill Cares Committee, Cargil Meats Canada
  • Highstreet Asset Management
  • Janice Evans, Highstreet Asset Management
  • Murphy Bus Lines
  • Children's Aid Society Employees' Charity Fund
  • Optimist Club of Oakridge Acres
  • The Lawson Foundation

To find out more about other nutrition programs in Southwestern Ontario, visit the OSNP's website.