STARFISH 

The History 

In April 2017 The Rotary Club of Penticton heard about the great things that the Vernon Rotary Club was doing with a project called “Starfish Pack Program” essentially delivering backpacks of weekend food to local students to address food security. After checking it out for themselves, Penticton Rotarians asked our club to get on board and start this program locally. The Penticton Starfish Program was founded. 

The program was started at Carmi Elementary feeding 11 children with a backpack of food every weekend. It didn’t take long before teachers and support staff soon started reporting that these students were coming to school Monday morning with a full tummy, ready to learn. 

With the help of the community, word spread quickly about the program and the need for funding and we began to received donations from local service clubs, individuals in the community and local businesses. 

As of June 2024, we were delivering 112 bags of weekend food to 13 different schools in Penticton. 

These bags consist of food items to help supplement 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and some snacks including fresh fruit and vegetables. It costs approx. $875 to support each child for the year. Save-On Foods is our local food partner. Thanks to them we have been able to continue to provide these bags of food even with rising food costs.

In Penticton, according to the last Vitals signs report, 19% of children in Penticton live in poverty. That is higher than the provincial average. 

Children should never have to worry about sourcing their next meal. Please consider sponsoring a child or a year. Our charitable society is called “The Rotary Clubs of Penticton Charitable Society” and tax receipts will be issued for all donations made here: Rotaryclubsofpentictonstarfish | CharityProfile | Donate Online (canadahelps.org)

You can email Tracy at starfishpackpenticton@gmail.com to learn more