With the recent school year coming to a close, David, Manjy, Dylan Sidoo and Jordan Sidoo recently received a heartfelt thank you for their significant contribution to the Weekend Food Program that has been supporting 17 vulnerable, low income and highly at-risk families with children attending Old Yale Road Elementary School in Surrey.

20% of the families of children attending the school are defined as low income and many students arrive at school with little or no food. The reality for many of these children is that they have little access to nutritious food at home. Though the Food Bank does provide a resource for families, often it is not enough or the families are unable or unwilling to access those resources.

In order to support those families in need, Old Yale Road Elementary started an Emergency Weekend Food Fund to provide emergency non-perishable food items to those most in need and in times of crisis.

For the Pilot Project 17 families were selected based on who would benefit the most and who was in the greatest need. Each Friday they would attend the school to receive two huge bags of groceries to carry them through the weekend. In the case of a few families who were unable to attend the school, some of the school staff would deliver the food to their homes to ensure that they were taken care of.

With the support of David, Manjy and Jordan Sidoo, the Emergency Weekend Food Fund has provided Old Yale Elementary with the “realization…that anything is possible, and that (they) are more than just a school; (they) are a community.”