Hundreds of Saskatoon students will be spending the long weekend with full hearts and full stomachs thanks to a partnership between the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation and Canpotex.

The Cheer Crates initiative saw volunteers spend their week filling 750 Cheer Crates with over $100 worth of food, toiletries, and activities to be distributed to schools across the city.

Zeba Ahmad is the CEO of the SPSF.

“We wanted kids to feel like they were loved and respected. So, there’s milk, cheese, butter, buns, potatoes, books, toothbrushes, and pancake mix!”

She adds that demand for this program continues to grow each year.

“We try and support as many families as we can. Unfortunately, the request was higher than what we had planned, so that’s something to think about for the next upcoming spring Cheer Crates.”

She adds that this year, they opened up deliveries to high school students, as well.

“There are kids everywhere who need support,” she explains. “Thanksgiving is not always when people think to support families and students…People have just gotten back to school. Probably lots of expenses with going back to school, and they could use a little bit of help.”

The crates were delivered on Wednesday. Since March 2020, SPSF has delivered more than 13,000 Cheer Crates.