A community fridge has been placed in each school within the Richmond School District as part of its Feeding Futures program.
In April 2023, Richmond School District was told it would receive $2.37 million over three years from the province for food programs.
The funding started this school year and is specifically being used to expand nutrition programs and find more ways to help students facing food insecurity.
All Richmond schools received an initial amount based on their school population and need, according to a finance and legal committee report.
The Richmond School District has been using the funds to expand its breakfast programs, lunch support and snack cupboards as well as creating additional programs.
Furthermore, the funds have also been used to improve the quality and variety of available food and to expand collaboration with community partners to help deliver these meal programs to students.
The school district also bought equipment and small appliance to help with the delivery of food programs as well as gift cards given to students in need during breaks in the school year when classes are not in session.
Part of the money was also used to hire a full-time Feeding Futures manager to support the fund's implementation. Ian Lai, former executive director of Urban Bounty, was hired to this position.
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