Meals2Go Expands to Brandon, Manitoba

Harvest Manitoba is thrilled to announce the expansion of its Meals2Go student nutrition program to the community of Brandon, Manitoba.

Starting this week, Betty Gibson and King George schools will be the first two Brandon schools to join the Meals2Go program.

This milestone marks a historic expansion for the Meals2Go program, which provides essential weekend and summer meals to students. With the addition of Brandon schools, the program now supports nearly 5,000 students each week across 15 schools, including locations in Winnipeg, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and Brandon.

“The smiles on the faces of students, parents and teachers when we deliver the kits at our Meals2Go schools each week is the best reward,” said Mika Peterson, Harvest Manitoba’s Director of Community Programs. “It is wonderful to be able to bring this important program to even more kids this year.”

Earlier this year, Harvest Manitoba began consultation with school divisions to identify schools with the highest needs for Meals2Go expansion. New support from Manitoba Education & Early Childhood Learning, along with expanded donor support from the K&P Talbot Community Fund, has allowed the addition of 2500 new students to be served weekly starting this year.

“Harvest Manitoba has always been about more than just hampers; we’re about hope,” said Harvest Manitoba’s President & CEO Vince Barletta. “Programs like Meals2Go are an important part of our mission to help young children and families thrive and have the best chance for a future without food insecurity.”

The Meals2Go program started in 2018 as Breakfast2Go, and it has continued to grow every year to meet the growing need for improved nutrition among K-8 students in Manitoba. This program, delivered by Harvest Manitoba, provides weekend nutrition kits to students in participating schools each Friday afternoon during the school year. These kits contain nutritious food items, including milk, yogurt, fresh fruit, granola bars and cereal. Harvest Manitoba also delivers Meals2Go programming during the summer months with pop-up locations outside school locals.