THUNDER BAY – When P.J. Pasqualino heard from his children that students at Ecole Gron Morgan were going hungry over the weekend, he knew it was time to act.
Pasqualino, who owns all three Pita Pit franchises in Thunder Bay, said it didn’t take him long to discover Isthmus Canada, formerly known locally as Breakfast in a Backpack, a program that provides food to students who might otherwise go without on Saturday and Sunday.
With the help of the corporation’s head office and generous donations at the counter by Pita Pit customers, the staff at the popular restaurant collected $4,120 to donate to the program, which is trying to raise $36,000 at the school by June in order to expand the program.
“We got all of our staff on board, let them know what the program is about and with their work informing the community, we had great donations across the city at all of our stores raising all the money,” Pasqualino said earlier this week.
“Anyone that came in we would ask them at the till if they would like to make a donation, as much as they could, from a dollar to as much as they wanted.”
Isthmus Canada’s Amina Abu-Bakare said she’s ecstatic at the donation, which will help provide about $10 worth of food per child enrolled in the program per weekend. It brings the total raised to about $25,000.
It’s a much-needed program, she said.
“Though the kids are fed at school during the week, on the weekends they have little or no food. That’s where we are unique,” Abu-Bakare said.
“We give them food on Friday to take home and on Monday they come back to school ready to learn.”
The volunteer-driven program currently services 305 children in 10 schools across the city.
“If we get the funding to take on all 100 kids, we’ll be feeding 360 kids, come September,” she said.
It’s still not close to ensuring everyone in the school system has enough to eat on the weekend.
“We have a lot of kids. I am fundraising one at a time. We have other schools that need the program, but you have to fundraise for three years for each school, because you’re not allowed to go into a school and pull out,” Abu-Bakare said.
To donate, visit www.isthmus.ca.
