SPERD donates funds to community organizations

After being left with an additional $30,000 from their school nutrient grant for the year, St. Paul School Division has decided to donate the money to community support services that have served SPERD through the years.

The County of St. Paul, Elk Point and Two Hills FCSS’ were given $9000 each, while the St. Paul FCSS and food bank each received $4000, and St. Paul and Mallaig’s Knights of Columbus received $2500 and $1500, respectively.

SPERD initially had a bit more extra cash, and spent it on $100 grocery cards which they distributed to organizations and families where there’s been a need in the past.

“We were in contact with the different agencies, and we wanted to give our support to the communities that we serve with St. Paul Education,” said superintendent Glen Brodziak.

When asked how the money was distributed, Brodziak said it was given out based on the different needs of each agency, with the goal of equitably serving each community serviced by SPERD.

The nutrient grant was conceived by Alberta’s NDP government sometime between 2016 and 2017 to provide schools with funds to pay for healthy foods for students.

Schools have used the money in different ways, with some using it for breakfast programs, healthy snacks, or as a safety net for students that forgot their lunch at home and don’t have anything to eat.

When the current Conservative government was elected, they opted to retain the grant.

There is no word yet on how each agency plans to use the extra money, but most likely it will be put towards addressing food concerns within their respective areas.