Volunteers are needed to support the Lethbridge Food Bank’s school lunch program. Executive director Mac Nichol says the Mindful Munchies program runs on volunteer work and there is a specific need for drivers to help distribute lunches to schools on Monday and Wednesday mornings.
The program provides nutritious lunches to students and runs on a philosophy of being “hungry for learning, not hungry for food.”
“By providing these lunches, we allow children to focus more on their school work and the socialization they get at school, instead of trying to worry about what they are going to eat and how they are going to get through the day,” Nichol says.
He adds the program has grown consistently in the last two years and it is anticipated to continue to grow this year. At the end of the last school year, about 3,000 lunches were served each week.
The program is funded through cash donations and grants, which are used to purchase all the food to assemble lunches.
Teachers and administration staff in schools work with the food bank to determine how many lunches are needed and there is no need to sign up for the program.
Anyone who wants to volunteer for the program can visit the Lethbridge Food Bank website or call them to sign up.