“My mission is to make sure the kids here in Bonnyville are taken care of and never go hungry.”
For Patti Cowden, the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Bonnyville, she is one step closer to completing that mission. She recently received notification that the local Boys and Girls Club was approved for a $15,000 grant to participate in Project Backpack.
Sponsored by the President’s Choice Children’s Charity, Project Backpack works to ensure that children and their families have access to nutritious food over the weekend, when school meal programs aren’t running.
“I was very happy about it, very excited,” Cowden expressed. “At the Boys and Girls Club, we work really hard to make sure our kids are well taken care of. We talk about healthy living, but how can some families keep up with healthy living when they don’t even have the money to. As part of being helping hands to make this community better, that’s definitely a very important mission for me and for the club as well.”
Cowden applied for the grant through the Boys and Girls Club of Canada, who facilitates the program for all of their community organizations across the country.
In Bonnyville, Project Backpack will launch in September and run until June 2019.
Once a week, program participants selected by the club will be given a backpack to take home filled with nutritious food that can be easily assembled into healthy meals for the weekend.
“We’re going to pack up their food and make sure they have food during that time. The priority will go towards single parents,” said Cowden, adding they also have fresh vegetables for families in need to benefit from.
“We’ll have the tower garden as well. We have tomatoes planted, basil, and a whole bunch of things. The parents and children can come and pick up some of the fresh vegetables too.”
Cowden wanted to become part of Project Backpack after noticing a need in the community. While the Boys and Girls Club offers after-school snacks to their participants, like the breakfast and lunch programs at schools, it’s only available during the week.
“We see so many kids that, it’s sad to say, the family has had a hard time keeping up with the economic decline. They have a hard time with their weekend food, they don’t have things to eat.”
She’s hoping that through this initiative, they’ll be able to alleviate some of the stress on parents and ensure local kids get the nutrition they need seven days a week.
With the grant money, Cowden estimates Project Backpack will be able to help 25 to 30 local families. She encourages those who could benefit from the program to reach out and get in touch with her.
“Any parent, or any family, that’s struggling and having a hard time keeping up with food during the weekend, please contact us in September so we can provide food during the weekend.”
