The food outreach programs under Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1) recently received a $30,000 boost from the Food First Foundation.
"Food First will be giving Yk1's Covid-19 food program $16,000 in funding along with an additional $14,000 in Loblaws' gift cards to support students in need," said Tram Do, director of corporate services with Yk1.
Blair McBride/NNSL photo
The contribution from Food First was made possible with funding to that foundation from the Breakfast Club of Canada, Second Harvest Food Rescue, Community Food Centres Canada, the federal government's Local Food Infrastructure Fund and the Gordon Foundation.
The majority of Yk1's food outreach has consisted of gift cards set aside for low-income families at three supermarkets in Yellowknife.
Most of the $30,000 from Food First will go towards gift cards at Mildred Hall School because it has the highest need among Yk1 schools, Do told a board of trustees meeting on June 9.
The latest donation brings to $44,900 the total contributions that the school district has received over the last two months for its food programs.
In April, Yk1 received $8,400 from the Breakfast Club of Canada. Since then, the Rotary Club pitched in $5,000 and, in April, Canadian Tire and Co-op gave $1,000 and $500, respectively.
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Do said the funding received to date will be enough to help families until September.
"In September when school is back, we are looking at other options," she said, though it wasn't yet known the form the programs would take.