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Volunteer mom helps feed hundreds of students each week

Andrea Binnington runs Clarksdale Public School's student nutrition program
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(From left) Rhonda Lepkan, Tyler Lepkan Binnington, Zachary Lepkan Binnington, and Andrea Binnington, were welcomed to City Hall on Tuesday for the civic recognition awards.

BURLINGTON - Students at Clarksdale Public School are getting to class with full bellies and smiles on their faces thanks to Andrea Binnington. 

Each Wednesday, Binnington leads a small team of volunteers – usually three people – in the school’s student nutrition program, feeding hundreds of kids. 

“My kids attend – or attended – Clarksdale, and I just wanted to be near them,” Binnington said. “I know the person who was running the program off and on had left because their kids graduated, and there was a need for someone to step up and fill in. I had been a stay-at-home mom for a while, and thought I needed to get more involved and help out some more.”

Binnington also works in the school’s office, doing student supervision at breaks and taking care of healthy food bins for kids who need a bit extra during lunch. 

The breakfast program is not exclusive, and is open for anyone who needs or wants to get some food in the morning. Usual food items include muffins, yogurt tubes, and fruit. 

“I think the most fun part is so many kids have been exposed to a new fruit that they’ve never had,” Binnington said. “It makes me laugh every time they’re like ‘what’s a plum? This is awesome!’”

Binnington added despite it being a breakfast program, the days don’t start as early as one may think. The kids still get up around 7 a.m., and as everyone at home gets where they need to be, Binnington arrives at the school around 8:15 to get prepping. 

The food used by the student nutrition program primarily comes from Halton Food for Thought – an organization that provides meals for schools across the region. Earlier this week, that non-profit was named one of the winners of a PepsiCo Foundation Community Impact Award, and will be receiving $7,500 from the beverage company. 

Additional help comes from fundraising efforts from parents, but there is more demand than Binnington can fill. Despite that, the kids love the program.

“Sometimes I’ll bump into kids in public and the parents will say ‘my son says he knows you’” Binnington said. “They tell me they love Wednesday mornings, that the kids are excited to get to school on Wednesday. I don’t see a tonne of parents, but when I do I’ve never had a negative reception.”

Binnington added she’d love to do more than just Wednesdays, but there just is not enough funding or resources to expand the program. On busy days, she and the team are feeding as many as 450 kids. 

Binnington was honoured earlier this week at Burlington’s civic recognition night. 

“It was an honour to get the award,” she said. “It was a lovely sense of recognition, and it’s an awesome school with awesome kids and awesome faculty. I love being a part of it.”