North End Winnipeg High School Builds Brand New Cafeteria and Affordable Meal Program
In early 2018, the Schroeder Foundation pledged $10 million dollars to three underprivileged high schools located in Winnipeg. St. John’s High School, one of the schools to receive the grant, has students who live in a largely single-parent household community where the median income is $40,000. A major issue for students in this community is access to a sustainable and healthy food program.
This year, with the help of the Schroeder Foundation, St. John’s High School unveiled its brand new Tiger Café, an affordable lunch and breakfast program for students. Tiger Café offers a communal environment where students can enjoy delicious meals prepared by the school’s new cafeteria. From pancakes and eggs to lemon chicken and lasagna, these meals are prepared in a transformed cafeteria with state-of-the-art cooking and kitchen appliances.
The new affordable lunch program offers students free breakfast and $2.50 lunches – every day of the week for the entire school year. Meals are prepared fresh and emphasize the nutritional needs a busy high school student deserves. The program is a success drawing excited reviews from students who now look forward to eating their school breakfast and lunch with their peers.
The principal of St John’s, Doug Taylor, says the positive effect of the Tiger Cafe is “a game-changer… [The lunch program] is making a difference. Students are staying here, students are eating.”
The program which is estimated to cost $400,000 a year is fully covered by the grant received from the Schroeder Foundation.
