In my last column I wrote about the jarring contrasts one can find on the streets of our city. Of juxtaposition and dissonance: of wealth and poverty. This piece showcases a remarkable collaborative effort to address the latter and to provide a nutritious breakfast to all children in Hamilton’s schools.
“Hamilton Tastebuds Student Nutrition Collaborative,” to use its full name, is the brilliantly re-branded Hamilton Partners in Nutrition (HPIN). It’s shepherded by the not-for-profit Social Planning and Research Council (SPRC) of Hamilton and managed by Senior Social Planner, Deirdre Pike.
To put it in perspective, Hamilton Tastebuds helps deliver 23,000 breakfasts a day at 144 venues, about 80% of them schools, and most of those in the inner city. That leaves almost another 100 schools without a program. (To find the current venues see the map on the old HPIN website that is slowly being folded into the new Tastebuds site.)
While those are stunning numbers for you to consider as your read this with Timmies in hand, or online at your local Starbucks, the program is not just about feeding kids in need; it is also about ensuring all children get a nutritious start to the day.
I’d first come across Pike when we were both part of the Spec’s Community Editorial Board, and recently became interested in an initiative proposed by SPRC to foster links between the breakfast program and local farmers. So I was delighted when she invited me to participate in a HPIN event, held in April, to honour volunteers in the program. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the large crowd and chat with some of the many partners (too many to list here) who have come together to make the program a success.
To say that giving Pike a microphone is like pouring gasoline on a fire is an understatement. It might be her
