News

Food for Learnings Feed the Meter campaign returns for its 13th holiday season to raise funds for Food for Learning!
FEED THE METER 2021 CAMPAIGN
DATE: December 1 – 31, 2021
LOCATION: Downtown Belleville, Trenton, Picton ON

A holiday tradition in Belleville, Trenton and Picton returns December 1, 2021 – FEED THE METER!
The 13th annual Feed the Meter campaign, in support of Student Nutrition Programs in Hastings and Prince Edward counties, is back! While shopping local, and staying safe, Food for Learning encourages everyone in our community, to please feed the meter this holiday season! All funds collected in downtown parking meters during the month of December 2021 will support Food for Learning’s school breakfast, snack, and lunch programs in area schools.

Through the Goodness of Your Actions, local Food for Learning programs will receive a financial boost so that they can continue to provide healthy food to students in schools. Each school day, over 4000 students across Hastings and Prince Edward counties are provided with healthy meals and snacks, including students learning virtually from home.

Since the redesign of the student nutrition programs to accommodate the pandemic and its restrictions, Food for Learning has been there to ensure the safety of all students and staff while maintaining the delivery of its invaluable programs.

The result, program costs continue to rise due to:
• Maintaining safety and minimizing the risk of transmission of the virus, much of the food offered to students is individually portioned and packaged, which continues to have a significantly higher cost
• A significant increase in the overall cost of food
• An increase in student participation
• Continuing support to both in-person and virtual students

For many reasons, children and youth in our community continue to experience hunger. We know that when students participate in a Food for Learning program, they are engaged in their learning, experience a sense of belonging at school, and develop lifelong healthy eating habits. Food for Learning can help improve the lives of students by providing food at school.
When describing the importance of the Food for Learning program at their own school, a Program Coordinator shared, “By providing daily healthy and nutritious snacks and meals, we are able to support our students, ensuring they are able to attend and focus in class, ready to learn, while concentrating on school work rather than appetite. Knowing snacks are always available, (with absolutely no stigma attached), is a good feeling, and makes for a better day for both students and staff. So happy this program is available. It really has made a difference!”

Student Nutrition Programs contributes to a positive thriving school environment, resulting in increased health and wellbeing for our students.

All funds collected through downtown parking meters during the month of December will help feed students at school.

Through the Goodness of Your Actions this holiday season, shop local, stay safe, and please Feed the Meter when visiting downtown Belleville, Picton, or Trenton.

Donations to Feed the Meter can also be mailed to:
Food for Learning c/o The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation
156 Ann Street
Belleville, ON K8N 3L3
(please make cheques payable to The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation)
The Feed the Meter campaign is supported through the generous contributions from campaign sponsors Starboard Cares (Cool 100 & Hits 95.5 & InQuinte), Quinte Broadcasting, Market High Advertising LTD., Greek Community of Belleville Quinte West and District, and The Grand Hall.
We also wish to recognize the GOLD sponsors of Feed the Meter 2021:
• Belleville: Adecco, Fresh Co Belleville, Vision Transportation, Wilkinson & Company LLP, Hastings Federation of Agriculture, Kellogg’s, Whitley Insurance & Financial Services
• Trenton: Findlay Food, Tomasso’s Italian Grille, Whitley Insurance & Financial Services , Wilkinson & Company LLP, Hastings Federation of Agriculture, Kellogg’s
• Picton: Kellogg’s, Prinzen Ford