More than 174,000 lunches have been delivered to local Saint John schools by delivery drivers from J.D. Irving, Limited associated companies in the last four years. This has been accomplished through "Lunch Connections," a network of school district, schools, volunteers and businesses that aims to make sure students have the nutrition they need to learn.

Over the course of the past four years, David Connell, a sales coordinator with Universal Truck and Trailer, has delivered tens of thousands of these. Now in his fifth year, he’s only ever missed one day.

“I jumped right in because I’m a big volunteer person to begin with,” he said. “It feels great.”

Lunch Connections launched in 1989 as a program of the Saint John-based Inner City Youth Ministry. The program originally only served a few schools, operating inside of the schools directly. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Lunch Connections switched to a hub model, now operating in a central kitchen space provided by the Province of New Brunswick and Anglophone South School District. Transitioning to the Hub Kitchen model allowed the program to reach more children, and in the current school year, Lunch Connections will serve 13 local schools. 

Key to the transition was J.D. Irving, Limited’s provision of delivery service through several drivers from associated companies Kent Line Agency, New Brunswick Southern Railway, Universal Truck and Trailer, Transportation Logistics Divisional Services, Irving Equipment and Gulf Operators, thanks to the PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools) connection.

“Being able to deliver the lunches to the schools makes a huge difference,” said Bonnie Hunt, executive director of Inner City Youth Ministry.

Deliveries are made on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the school year.

“This project is a true example of how when we all work together – school, community and business. We level the playing field and our students have the basics to learn and thrive," said Erica Lane, community engagement coordinator for Anglophone South School District.

At the Hub Kitchen on a chilly morning in late October, 540 lunches are carefully prepared and packed by a dedicated team of volunteers, then set out for Connell to pick up, destined for schools across the city. About 40 minutes after pickup, Connell pulls up at St. John the Baptist/King Edward School to drop off the last 120 lunches on his route.

Ben Gillcrist, a community schools coordinator at the K-8 school, and grade 8 students Cayden and Fayez meet him at the door. They’ll then take the lunches to classroom doors throughout the school, ensuring there are nutritious lunches available for all the students who need it.

“It helps us guarantee food security for the kids who need it most while also engaging our precious community partners and all the people who work so hard together to make this work,” Gillcrist said. 

“We have Inner City working over at the Hub Kitchen, you have district office who put up the facility and you have our wonderful JDI partners at PALS who make sure that every one of those lunches gets exactly where it needs to be.”