The Winnipeg Foundation injects $675,000 into child nutrition initiatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, NOVEMBER 22, 2007

Thousands of Winnipeg kids will have more access to healthy food at local schools and community centres, thanks to a substantial grant from the Moffat Family Fund at The Winnipeg Foundation. The grant, which supports the Manitoba Council on Childhood Nutrition/Breakfast for Learning programs, totals $675,000 over five years. The support was announced at a media event this morning at John M. King School, one of the recipient programs. Manitoba Council on Child Nutrition/Breakfast for Learning began allocating the money in September. To date, 30 schools and nine family resource centres have received funding.

"When kids go to school hungry, they're severely limited in their potential to succeed," says Richard Frost, Chief Executive Officer of The Winnipeg Foundation. "It's critical that we help children when their nutritional needs are not being met at home. Adequate diet can have a remarkable impact on a student's performance at school and mental health."

"This is an issue close to our family's heart and we see it as an important investment in our community's future. We know that healthy eating today is one of our best prevention tools for disease down the road. So, when we saw an opportunity to play a proactive, intervention role we leapt at the chance," says Randy Moffat, on behalf of the Moffat Family Council.

The grant augments existing local programs, primarily in Winnipeg School Division, bolstering a variety of breakfast, snack and lunch programs for students. In addition to providing nutritious meals for youth who might not have adequate access to such at home, some programs are using funds for education activities (including meal planning, budgeting and preparation), cooking classes, food hampers and community meals.

The Moffat Family Fund was established at The Winnipeg Foundation in 2001 with an unprecedented gift of $100 million. The Fund supports programs and opportunities for at-risk youth and families in inner-city neighbourhoods. To date, it has granted more than $25 million in support of innovative community projects in Winnipeg and the 12 communities where Moffat Communications did business.

The Winnipeg Foundation, your centre for community philanthropy, is Canada's first community foundation. Pooling and investing gifts made by donors from all walks of life, The Winnipeg Foundation makes grants to support a wide range of local charities. In its 2007 fiscal year, the Foundation granted more than $17 million to more than 650 organizations.

Manitoba Council on Child Nutrition/Breakfast for Learning supports child nutrition programs in schools and community centres across the province. In 2006-07, MCCN funded 94 programs, which served more than 10,000 children.

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For more information, contact:
Richard L. Frost, CEO, The Winnipeg Foundation
P: 944.9474
E: rfrost@wpgfdn.org