The Breakfasts of Madame Bissonnette

03.02.2025

2 mins read

Claudine Bissonnette is the lead volunteer for the breakfast program at Sacré-Coeur School in Mont-Saint-Michel, Quebec, and has been for the past eight years. Every morning since the program started up, she has been coming in and rolling up her sleeves, with the help of her husband, to ensure that the children she serves — of whom there are currently 34 — get a nutritious start to the school day. She loves to make them a hot meal, even though she doesn’t have a lot of room to work with. Her homemade crêpes are always a popular dish. A wheeled cart serves as her prep table, and she has come up with plenty of creative solutions to make the most of the limited space. It just goes to show that it doesn’t take a huge kitchen to put a delicious, nutritious morning meal on the table.

Waste isn’t an option at Mont-Saint-Michel School. Claudine (“Madame Bissonnette” to the students) uses breakfast time to raise nutritional awareness and encourage students to gauge their own hunger and fullness when filling their plates. She helps them develop healthy habits, prompting them to try new foods and make mindful decisions. She guides the younger children to see beyond the colourful presentation at the serving table and make their choices based on what their bodies are telling them.

Claudine is also determined to keep the amount of waste produced to a strict minimum. Her freezer is always full. It’s where she tucks away any leftover applesauce, fruit compote and yogurt and turns it into yummy breakfast pops — one of the tips she picked up during our spring info session on waste reduction. The breakfast area has a series of clearly labelled bins (complete with pictograms for younger students) to help with waste sorting and recycling efforts.

Claudine is an enthusiastic volunteer who takes her role to heart. She intends to stay on and keep feeding students every morning, for as long as her health allows.

Thank you, Madame Bissonnette, for your remarkable dedication and generous spirit.

Interested in taking a page from Claudine’s book and helping students develop healthy eating habits?

Here are a few tools you can refer to and use at your school.