While he now spends much of his workday surrounded by food, Boshkung Brewing owner Mathew Renda remembers what it was like as a kid struggling to get by on an empty stomach.
The Minden entrepreneur launched a new breakfast program at Archie Stouffer Elementary School (ASES) recently, providing a free hot meal for between 50 and 75 young students.
Renda, his wife Deborah Banks and several Boshkung staffers, who volunteered their time, pitched up at the school March 21, serving bacon, scrambled eggs, muffins, yogurt and fruit salad to those most in-need. He said the food was prepped in the kitchen at Boshkung Social.
“What a morning – we were in there for about 8 a.m. and were serving kids until about 9:15. Just seeing the kids be so excited, they all came in and had little breakfast coupons the school has had made. The smiles and joy on their faces, it was awesome,” Renda said.
The program will run weekly, every Friday morning, adding to the ‘healthy snack bin’ program the school currently provides.
ASES principal Mike Gervais said ASES has had other food programs in the past, supported by Food for Kids Haliburton, President’s Choice Power Full Kids, and local donors, though noted this new offering is hitting a specific need.
“This initiative targets students who would benefit most from a healthy meal… the goal is to provide nutritious options that fuel students for the day ahead,” Gervais said. “The school recognized some students could benefit from a proper breakfast, especially those who may be skipping the meal.
“On the first day, the program saw a noticeable increase in attendance from the students it was designed to support,” Gervais added, noting studies show children who regularly eat a balanced breakfast perform better academically, are more alert in class, and exhibit improved problemsolving skills.”
Renda said he regularly used his school’s breakfast program when he was a student in Durham Region. With the cost-of-living crisis impacting many County families, Renda said he felt a calling to give back to the community.
The idea came about after a conversation Renda had with one of his workers at the Social, who has a child enrolled at ASES and felt an enhanced breakfast program would do a lot of good.
“So, we jumped right in – we do a lot with our food banks and other organizations, but nothing that directly helps and impacts students. As someone who has been there – my dad was a shift worker with Toronto Transit, my mom stayed home, so we didn’t have a ton of money. Now that I’m in a position to step up, it’s something I want and need to do,” Renda said.
There are dishes lined up throughout April, with French toast, waffles, and pancakes on the menu.
Renda plans to run the program as long as he’s in business in the County and hopes to expand in future. “If we can progressively build this program so that we’re feeding 100 kids, that would be awesome. I want to feed as many mouths as I can.”
For feeding up to 75 kids, he estimated it will cost around $5,000 to run the rest of this school year and about $11,000 for a full year.
