High River business serves hearty breakfast to support Food For Thought

A local non-profit got a huge show of support from High River residents and a major agriculture dealership. 

On Tuesday morning, Vanne Farm Centre held a pancake breakfast outside its High River location with the proceeds supporting the Food For Thought program.

The non-profit group works with various schools in High River, Diamond Valley, Blackie, and Cayley to provide lunches to kids who need them every day.

According to Suvi-Tuulia Lawrence, Program Coordinator, staff prepare about 130 lunches a day. However, she said she still runs into people who have never heard of them.

"I think often it's forgotten that these rural communities also need the help,” she said. 

The program has been running for about 12 years and in the past year, numbers have steadily increased amid the rising cost of food. Because most of the food in their daily lunches is fresh and bought directly from the store, the costs have started to add up over time. 

Thankfully, Lawrence is grateful to live in a community and a province that supports them, plus she was extremely happy that Vanee stepped forward to host the pancake breakfast. 

“It is great community building, getting to know other people and these other businesses in town,” she said. “It's just a shout-out to our program, working great together. We can advertise a little bit for them, and they advertise and advocate for us, for our program.” 

Dozens of families came by Vanee Farm Centre on 121st Street East to enjoy pancakes, sausages, bacon, and coffee and to donate to Food For Thought.  

Vanee is hosting pancake breakfasts throughout the week in recognition of Alberta Farmers Day. Pancake breakfasts will be held at the Claresholm location on Wednesday, in Lethbridge on Thursday, and Taber on Friday with the proceeds benefiting the local food banks.

Lawrence said that anyone interested in learning more about the program is encouraged to visit its website and social media pages and to attend the different fundraisers they put on throughout the year.