Correlieu Secondary School in Quesnel was able to donate 50 pounds of fresh, school made granola to our school Breakfast Club as well as 50 pounds of granola to Season’s House, the local homeless shelter in Quesnel. The students involved in this project, which included 4 senior Foods classes, studied the benefits of eating raw, whole grains, seeds and nuts and the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast. They also researched a variety of granola recipes, from maple syrup flavoured to hemp hearts and quinoa added with blueberry syrup flavouring.
Many of the students had never previously made granola and afterwards commented on the ease and simplicity of preparing healthy food. Oftentimes, students learn through media that highly processed and boxed cereals, or quick breakfasts-on-the-run meals, is good for you. In reality, “slow food,” meaning, prepared at home with healthy ingredients and enjoyed over a sit down meal, is very beneficial to optimum health, where as highly processed food with high amounts of sugar and fat are not healthy.
The 4 students who went to Season’s House to deliver the granola had never been inside the shelter and had very limited knowledge of how the shelter is funded and the types of services that are offered. Melanie MacDonald, the executive director of the shelter, spoke briefly with the students about the services, from acute housing care, to long term housing, to medical and social service referrals.
Correlieu Secondary School is pleased to have worked with Save On Foods who also partnered on this project. Save On Foods provided us with $200 additional dollars to support this project. Thank you Save On Foods and thank you Healthy Schools Network.