COVID-19 Update: A Message to our Friends and Supporters

Here at Nourish, like many other not-for-profit organizations, we are looking at the next weeks and months in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to let you know that we are thinking of you and your families and are equally concerned about this unprecedented public health situation. We also want you to know that our work continues here at Nourish on the issues that are important to you, and want to thank you for your continued support.

While we are sad to see the closure of schools across the province, we know it’s the right thing to do. We also know that when one door closes another door opens. We will continue to serve and support children throughout this crisis in new and innovative ways and are pivoting daily to deliver our mission.

Most urgently, we have received questions and concerns regarding student access to food programs in lieu of school healthy eating programs. While we know that universal school breakfast programs provide a morning meal to thousands of students each day for a variety of reasons, it is the most vulnerable students that face added pressures right now. After conversations with our government partners, we’ve been reassured that funds have been redirected to Department of Community Services: to increase family assistance cheques and to increase food relief programming through Feed Nova Scotia. Additionally, the federal government’s Canadian Emergency Response Benefit will be in place soon. We are thankful that community resources have been actioned and we will remain engaged with these partners to offer support.

As well, we are working diligently with our community partners and local farmers to create a contingency plan to operationalize our Nourish Your Roots (NYR) program for implementation this fall. We understand how important the NYR program is to provide a revenue stream in schools to directly support breakfast, snack, lunch, garden and food skills programming.

In the meantime, we have increased our online tools and resources for families at home. It’s an ideal time to get kids in the kitchen building food skills that will last a lifetime! Children and youth are engaging in food literacy activities like cooking, participating in our Healthy Eating Art Contest, planting indoor food gardens in time for spring, and exploring our Nourish Food & Film Challenge. We will share these stories and inspiration over the coming weeks. Please continue to follow us and share our newsletter, blog, and social media posts. Let us know what you think. We would love to hear from you.

Although we have had to postpone most of our programs, events and fundraisers, and know that Nourish will be challenged through Covid-19 over the coming months, we will continue to rise to the occasion and support children in the province in innovative ways. We appreciate your continued support so together we can serve and inspire every child in Nova Scotia to eat, enjoy and value food.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Staff,

Margo Riebe-Butt - Executive Director