A new partnership between the Cowichan Valley School District and the Nourish Cowichan Society will see the non-profit organization convert space at École Mount Prevost into a food preparation facility to feed more kids in the district.
June 29, 2017
For Immediate Release
COWICHAN VALLEY, BC – A former metal shop at École Mount Prevost in Duncan is being given new life thanks to a partnership between the Cowichan Valley School District (SD 79) and the Nourish Cowichan Society, which will see the non-profit organization convert the space into a food preparation facility to feed more kids in the district.
The partnership was announced after the Board of Education approved a motion brought forward during a special board meeting held Thursday evening.
“We know that children learn better when they are well nourished, and unfortunately we have a number of young learners in our district who come to school hungry,” said Candace Spilsbury, Chair of the Board of Education for SD 79. “We are very pleased to be able to provide the Nourish Cowichan Society with a space for their food production, so they can continue to grow and expand their support to other schools in the Cowichan Valley.”
Nourish Cowichan is currently able to provide breakfast at $1 per day, per student in the Cowichan Valley. They began providing meals to students at Khowhemun Elementary as a pilot program in November 2016; now they are present in five schools.
“Nourish Cowichan Society was born out of a staggering number of children in the Cowichan Valley going to school without breakfast,” said Fatima Da Silva, President and Co-Founder of Nourish Cowichan Society. “We are rapidly expanding, and having a larger kitchen facility to prepare our weekly deliveries is something we really needed and have been raising funds for. We are thrilled to be partnering with the school district to build our kitchen at École Mount Prevost, and look forward to further supporting students across the Cowichan Valley.”
For more information on the Nourish Cowichan Society, which is now a registered charity, please visit www.nourishcowichan.ca/.
-30-
To view a PDF copy of this announcement, please click here.
Media Contact:
Katie McLaughlin
Communications Specialist
Phone: 250-510-6044
Email: kmclaughlin@sd79.bc.ca