Cornwall, Ontario – The Agapè is a recipient of the Rural Kids Grant program, an intiative of the Grocery Foundation and the Ontario Association of Food Banks to increase the amount of fresh, healthy food to children in our community.

At the Agapè Centre, we want to provide a better life for our challenged children. With this grant, we will be able to fund a 42 week Kids’ Health Zone that will increase access to nutritious foods. Our clients’ children will have an opportunity to drop in after school where they can pick up a fruit, a vegetable and a dairy product as their afterschool snack. The program will be provided free of charge to our food bank “family” clients. We will also provide fun recipes and opportunities to try more exotic vegetables and fruits like spinach and mango. Our goal with this program is to create an environment where our kids in need can have more accessible, readily available nutritious foods to meet their nutritional goals on a daily basis.

The launch of this program is tentatively scheduled for the beginning of December. Currently, at the Agapè Center, we provide families with a food basket that contains approximately the volume of 3 to 5 days of groceries, once a month. Except during the summer months where we can incorporate a few vegetables if our food garden permits, we only provide non-perishable food items except for eggs and bread. “I was so excited to receive the call from the Ontario Association of Food Banks. We really want to provide our clients with better food choices, especially kids. This is a great start” says Alyssa, executive director of the Agapè Centre. “Children need a minimum of 5 fruits and vegetables every day. We want to help them met these goals!”.