An update from The Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation, regarding COVID-19 response, support to students.

Over the past two weeks, the staff and volunteers of The Learning Foundation have worked incredibly hard to support food insecure students and families in Hastings and Prince Edward counties.

Initially, a partnership was established with Highland Shores CAS staff to provide food vouchers from Food for Learning and this will continue until the end of next week.

We are working with local Food Banks to provide fruit and vegetable coupons, and allocate food donations that would otherwise support our student nutrition programs for families while students are at home during school closures.

In addition, we have been able to support our most food insecure students with immediate food needs, through the donation of grocery gift cards in Hastings and Prince Edward counties. Funds from both The Learning Foundation’s Student Emergency Funds and Food For Learning have been used to make the purchases of these grocery gift cards.

Grocery gift card purchases have also been made possible by generous donations from Kellogg’s, the Belleville Senators, the Grocery Foundation, and Breakfast Clubs of Canada, not to mention Jon Buchanan, of the FreshCo in Belleville, Wayne Dewe, of Your Independent in Belleville, and John Smylie of Your Independent in Trenton, for assisting with the purchase of grocery gift cards!

Donor support is greatly needed at this time, and if you would consider a gift, a donation to our Food for Learning and our Student Emergency Fund would be most appreciated!