Each week throughout the summer, Community Food Share, an organization that runs food banks in Morrisburg and Winchester, Ontario, distrtibutes green canvas bags full of healthy food — fruit pouches, granola bars, cheese and crackers, and more — to school-aged children. “For many families, these packs fill a critical gap when school meal programs are not available,” reported Jane Schoones, who was Community Food Share’s team leader until she retired last August.
One day last July, the packs included fresh watermelon and blueberries. “A mother shared that her children were so excited, they immediately opened the packs on the walk home and began eating the fruit right out of the container,” said Schoones. “She explained that watermelon and blueberries were normally out of reach for her grocery budget, so seeing her kids enjoy them was joyful and emotional.”
All across the country, food bankers saw children reacting in similar ways to fresh fruit. “A little boy was so shocked when I gave him apples and snacks,” wrote Melinda Michaud, director of Grand Falls Regional Food Bank in New Brunswick. “He started crying and said to his mother: ‘We can finally eat something good.’ The kid was so thankful that he came to give me a hug!”
“One child spotted her favourite fruit (watermelon) and instantly her eyes lit up,” shared Kate White, a summer student working for The Food Bank Network of the Bay of Islands Ministerial Association in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. “Another ran around excitedly with a pineapple. These moments are priceless!”
Nourishment, Energy, and Care
Behind the joy and excitement is a tough reality: food insecurity affects hundreds of thousands of children in Canada. Kids under 18 make up a third of food banks’ clients — even though they’re only around a quarter of the population — and their risk of going hungry is especially pronounced in the summertime, when the regular school nutrition programs that many of them depend upon take a break.
Food Banks Canada, Subway Canada, and other partners aim to bridge this gap with the After the Bell program, which provides nutritious weekly food packs for food banks and community organizations across the country to give to families in need. In the summer of 2026, the program will distribute 220,000 packs in 235 communities from coast to coast to coast.
The packs arrive at local food banks full of shelf-stable items such as cereal and protein bars. And thanks to the generosity of After the Bell’s fresh food sponsor, Subway Canada, food banks will also receive a grant for adding fresh fruit or vegetables to each pack. This helps to create a well-rounded and nutrient-dense pack. Subway Canada donates to After the Bell through their Never Miss Lunch program. Now entering its eighth year, the program this summer will feature everyone’s favorite treat, the Subway cookie. Between June 15 and June 21, purchasing a cookie at Subway means fresh food for kids. This initiative will take place in Subway restaurants across Canada.
Together, Subway Canada and Food Banks Canada work to ensure that kids have access to fresh food. “Everything in the packs is food the children wouldn’t get without this amazing program,” says Jamie Ferguson, food programs manager at Salt Spring and Southern Gulf Islands Community Services Society in British Columbia. “Snack food and fresh fruits and veggies are expensive; they’re the first things to go when someone is struggling with food security.”
“Many [kids] received the only fresh food they would have all summer through these packs,” agreed Schoone. “It gave them nourishment, energy, and a sense of being cared for.”
“We are deeply grateful for Subway’s ongoing commitment to ensuring kids have access to fresh, nutritious food,” emphasized Kirstin Beardsley, CEO Food Banks Canada. “At a time when food banks serve more than 700,000 children each month, partnerships like this are more important than ever. Together, we’re helping ensure kids can focus on being kids.”
The Subway Never Miss Lunch program supports Food Banks Canada’s After the Bell Program. Buy a Subway cookie and help feed kids in communities like yours!
