October 16, 2025
Programs across Central West Ontario Joining Together to Raise Awareness.
Starting today, organizations across Central West Ontario are joining together to participate in the Great Big Crunch to raise awareness about the importance of Student Nutrition Programs. Halton Food for Thought, Nutrition for Learning, The Children’s Foundation of Guelph, YMCA of Greater Toronto and the region’s lead agency YMCA of Three Rivers are uniting to welcome the community into the wonderful world of Student Nutrition Programs.
“The Great Big Crunch isn’t just about a single moment—it’s about a shared commitment to student nutrition. Together with our partners, we’re building a movement that supports healthy eating, learning readiness, and stronger communities.” stated Teen Steeves, Supervisor, Student Nutrition Programs Central West Ontario, from YMCA of Three Rivers when asked about the importance of the Central West organizations joining together for the Great Big Crunch.
From October 16 – 30 we are inviting the community to join us on social media to see our schools Crunch with Us celebrating the benefits of their programs within their schools and help us spread the word about their importance.
Speaking to the impact of the event, Aliya Khawari Executive Director of Halton Food for Thought noted, "The Great Big Crunch is a great opportunity for us and our schools to pause and create collective moments celebrating the positive impact of programs on their students. When everyone crunches in unison you see how many students can benefit from our programs.”
Andy Seto, Director, Peel Student Nutrition Programs added about the community connections, “The Great Big Crunch brings the community together to celebrate food. Local produce tastes great and is good for you, too.”
The organizations support over 680 schools across Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin and Peel regions respectively, providing over 400,000 students access to nutritious meals and snacks at school. When students have access to the nutrition they need, it has proven benefits such as increased energy, stronger school communities, and improved school performance.
“While our shared commitment to Student Nutrition Programs extends beyond the Great Big Crunch, it’s a wonderful reminder of the collective impact of collaborative approaches to food access.” says Megan Harron, Director of Programs at the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.
Erin Moraghan, Executive Director of Nutrition for Learning summed up the collective efforts of the organizations, “School food programs foster connection, community, stronger pathways to success. We’re not just making noise for school food; we're standing up for the future of our communities. The Great Big Crunch shows that our regions can come together in solidarity, side-by-side as the wind at the back of our future citizens."
Want to join in and show your support for Student Nutrition Programs? Take a picture or a short video of you crunching something nutritious like an apple or a cucumber. Post it on social media with the hashtag #CrunchForStudents and #GreatBigCrunch you can also tag Halton Food for Thought @haltonfoodforthought on Facebook or Instagram so we can like and share, while you are there make sure to give us a follow to stay in the know about our programs.
The more noise we make crunching the better! Help us raise awareness about the importance of student nutrition, fueling our students’ day ahead with the nutrition they need to reach their full potential.
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