Like the early bird she is, 13-year-old Trinady Parkhill is usually on the road by 8 a.m., making the 20-minute walk to Princess Anne Public School.
But the Grade 8 student's schedule doesn't normally leave her with enough time to eat breakfast before she leaves the house.
That's why she loves Princess Anne's breakfast club, which operates five days a week.
“It's the most important meal of the day,” Trinady said, adding that she doubts she'd be able to concentrate in class without eating. “It gives you a good boost every morning.”
Students are offered fresh fruit and vegetables, cereal, yogurt, and even items such as pancakes, grilled-cheese sandwiches, smoothies or egg burritos — which happens to be a personal favourite of Trinady's.
“They are good cooks,” she said.
Brandon Gilbert, a Grade 6 student at the school, said he usually grabs a granola bar or juice box before going outside to play before class in the morning.
The 11-year-old also loves the pancakes and grilled-cheese sandwiches served at the breakfast club.
“When I smell something good, I go,” he said.
The school serves roughly half of its more than 400 students breakfast each school day, said Princess Anne's vice-principal, Jodie Pakkala.
She said the premise behind the breakfast club is to offer nutritious food to students who can't afford it. That being said, all students are welcome to eat breakfast at school.
Pakkala said many children enjoy just being able to relax and chat with their friends at the breakfast club.
Trinady Parkhill, a Grade 8 student at Princess Anne Public School, enjoys some yogurt at the school's breakfast club. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.
“We have very busy lives,” she said.
“So sometimes we're feeding our children and sending them out the door quickly. With the breakfast club, they get to sit down, they get to socialize with staff or students they wouldn't normally get to socialize with in their own classroom.”
Pakkala said there are studies that show children who eat a healthy breakfast have an easier time learning — something Princess Anne's staff sees in action every day.
“We see the kids finishing up their breakfast, and you see lots of learning going on,” she said. “They're not focused on being hungry.”
Princess Anne and 32 other schools in the Sudbury and Manitoulin Island region are able to run breakfast clubs thanks in part to help from Breakfast Clubs of Canada.
Depending on the size of the school, it costs $2,000 to $10,000 a year to run a breakfast program, said Julie Mimeault, Breakfast Clubs of Canada's Eastern Ontario co-ordinator.
The organization provides monetary funding and solicits food donations from companies such as Danone and Minute Maid.
A major fundraiser for Breakfast Clubs of Canada — Wal-Mart's Help them Shine campaign — recently wrapped up.
Mimeault said her organization hoped to raise $3 million through the campaign, in which shoppers had a chance to purchase a bookmark for $1 — enough to purchase breakfast for one child.
There's no doubt that breakfast clubs benefit kids, she said.
When kids have a meal before class, their memory and concentration levels improve, and they just feel good about themselves, Mimeault said.
“It helps every individual child shine in their own way,” she said.
Along with Breakfast Clubs of Canada, Sudbury's Better Beginnings, Better Futures also funds meals and snacks for local kids — including at Princess Anne — through its Student Nutrition Program.
Diane Giroux, who co-ordinates the program, which operates in 89 schools in the region, said volunteers are a crucial component to breakfast programs, as they're the ones who pick up grocery orders and prepare the food for kids.
Breakfast clubs are so popular that schools would like to be able to offer them five days a week, but not all schools can, mostly because they can't find enough volunteers, she said.
For many students, the program is a place for them to learn about healthy eating habits, something which is important as child obesity levels continue to rise, Giroux said.
“It gives them a chance to learn what the healthy choices are, and they see it every day,” she said.
“It's important for them to eat their fruits and vegetables. All the volunteers talk to the students about the importance of having dairy products and the grain products, and try to get something from all the food groups.”
To learn more about breakfast clubs, visit www.breakfastclubscanada.org or www.betterbeginningssudbury.ca.
