WINNIPEG -- A Winnipeg middle school has started a nutrition program to help feed students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Valley Gardens Middle School is offering the program every Tuesday and Thursday. Students and families can pick up the food between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., but if they can’t make it, the school will drop it off at their home. The school noted the food is given to students outside the front doors, in order to adhere to physical distancing measures.

“The other day it was ham dinner and sandwiches, along with dairy, desserts, and other staples,” the River East Transcona School Division said in a Facebook post.

All students at the school are invited to take part in the initiative, with Valley Gardens noting it has partnerships with Giant Tiger and Superstore that help support the program.

“A group of dedicated educational assistants, teachers and administrators form the planning team and schedule meal preparation on Mondays and Wednesdays,” the school division said. 

“This amazing group of EAs organizes the preparation of all the food/meals.”

Some of the school’s educational assistants have also been preparing and donating foods for the program.

“It is a wonderful example of servant leadership and speaks to the caring environment that exists at VG,” the Facebook post said.