Community effort feeds 450 students weekly at three Fort Erie schools

Close to 17,000 lunches were provided to students at three Fort Erie schools last year thanks to a partnership between two charities.

Community Crew is a Niagara-based organization that feeds 1,500 kids at dozens of schools across the region, and through its collaboration with Strong Fort Erie Neighbourhoods (SFEN), 450 lunches per week were delivered to kids at three local schools during the 2024-25 school year.

The involved schools are Peace Bridge Public School, Our Lady of Victory (OLV) Catholic Elementary School, and John Brant Public School.

Through the support of donations and sponsors, Community Crew provides healthy lunches to food insecure children who are enrolled in its lunch program, a separate initiative from the breakfast club hosted by Niagara Nutrition Partners.

They also provide motivational assemblies and fun activities throughout the school year, says the Community Crew website.

SFEN president Theresa Murphy, a retired educator and former principal at OLV, said the local charity is a “strong advocate for access to healthy food because we know that good nutrition is crucial for student learning.”

She told Fort Erie Radio she has “seen first hand how a balanced diet provides the nutrients for optimal brain development and function in our classrooms,” and that “being hungry can be eradicated with a collective community response.”

And SFEN is proud to be a part of that response.

“We value our partnership with Community Crew because we know that many of our children are being fed during the school day,” said Murphy.

SFEN volunteers put the lunches together, with food provided by Community Crew, and distribute them three days a week during the school year.

Last year, SFEN volunteers made about 150 lunches per day, three days a week, for the participating local schools.

Parents must sign up for this program, which is done through the schools and happens in the month of September.

Murphy said the third critical partner in Fort Erie is St. Michael’s Church, which offers the use of its parish hall to store the food and provide the distribution base.

“This has given Community Crew a footprint in the Greater Fort Erie part of the Niagara region,” she said.

Those interested in donating are encouraged to visit communitycrew.ca.

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