Information about hot lunch program
Dear Fern families,
In an effort to clarify the issue of the Hot Lunch Program at Fern, concerned families need to know that the Program was not operated by the school. It has been run by the Fern Food Program which was created by volunteers from the School Advisory Council, in conjunction with the Ferncliff daycare.
The program is unique for a number of reasons. The funding for the program is given to provide a hot lunch opportunity in the school at a minimal cost to our families and limits how much the charge for lunch can be. The majority of schools that offer a food program are run largely if not entirely with volunteers so that the grant money can provide a quality meal for the children. In our case, the cook is an employee of the daycare and is a union member covered by the daycare’s current collective agreement. The cook was shared between the daycare and the school’s needs, which has led to blurred lines between the daycare and the lunch program. The grant stipulation is that the food program cannot use more than 30% of the grant money to cover the cost of paid employees, but that is not sustainable given the current operation needs, relating to the requirement of several employees. As far as program management and oversight, the former daycare Director did the work on her own time. This option is no longer available, nor does the school have personnel available for this purpose.
The cook will continue to prepare food for the daycare clients.
Challenges facing the existing program are significant amounts of wasted food generated and large year-over-year operational deficits. The present scenario cannot be maintained.
Certainly, there are positives to having a lunch program. We have benefitted from having a wonderful cook and a cooperative team to support her work. Many of the older children volunteer to help serve and clean up after the lunch rush is over, leading to exemplary leadership demonstrated by students.
We look forward to working together with our School Advisory Council to hopefully organize a new lunch program that will be completely separate from the Daycare. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 5, 2010, at 7:00 pm, in order to discuss potentially viable options and next steps. We welcome parents to join us and contribute ideas or to submit ideas for consideration.
Alexander Moy, Principal, Fern Avenue PS
Karen McGill, RECE, Director/ Supervisor, Ferncliff Daycare and After School Program
In an effort to clarify the issue of the Hot Lunch Program at Fern, concerned families need to know that the Program was not operated by the school. It has been run by the Fern Food Program which was created by volunteers from the School Advisory Council, in conjunction with the Ferncliff daycare.
The program is unique for a number of reasons. The funding for the program is given to provide a hot lunch opportunity in the school at a minimal cost to our families and limits how much the charge for lunch can be. The majority of schools that offer a food program are run largely if not entirely with volunteers so that the grant money can provide a quality meal for the children. In our case, the cook is an employee of the daycare and is a union member covered by the daycare’s current collective agreement. The cook was shared between the daycare and the school’s needs, which has led to blurred lines between the daycare and the lunch program. The grant stipulation is that the food program cannot use more than 30% of the grant money to cover the cost of paid employees, but that is not sustainable given the current operation needs, relating to the requirement of several employees. As far as program management and oversight, the former daycare Director did the work on her own time. This option is no longer available, nor does the school have personnel available for this purpose.
The cook will continue to prepare food for the daycare clients.
Challenges facing the existing program are significant amounts of wasted food generated and large year-over-year operational deficits. The present scenario cannot be maintained.
Certainly, there are positives to having a lunch program. We have benefitted from having a wonderful cook and a cooperative team to support her work. Many of the older children volunteer to help serve and clean up after the lunch rush is over, leading to exemplary leadership demonstrated by students.
We look forward to working together with our School Advisory Council to hopefully organize a new lunch program that will be completely separate from the Daycare. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 5, 2010, at 7:00 pm, in order to discuss potentially viable options and next steps. We welcome parents to join us and contribute ideas or to submit ideas for consideration.
Alexander Moy, Principal, Fern Avenue PS
Karen McGill, RECE, Director/ Supervisor, Ferncliff Daycare and After School Program