Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PotashCorp) today committed $375,000, for the second consecutive year, to support meal programs for school-age children across Saskatoon’s Public and Catholic School Divisions.

“At PotashCorp we take the issue of food security in our communities very seriously,” said Bill Johnson, Senior Director of Public Affairs. “Our commitment to Saskatoon’s school divisions involves three components: providing students with access to nutritious meals and snacks, enhancing school-wide nutrition education and increasing the number of community gardens within the city.”

PotashCorp’s $375,000 contribution will be allocated between Saskatoon’s two school divisions. Saskatoon Public Schools will commit its $200,000 to the ‘PotashCorp Food4Thought Nutrition Program’ which will support the school division’s ongoing efforts to provide daily nutritious meals in 20 public schools, each with their own community garden. Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools will use its $175,000 to support breakfast, lunch and snack programs and community gardens in 16 schools across its system.

“We know that students who come to school hungry are less attentive and not receptive to learning,” said Saskatoon Public Schools Board Chair Ray Morrison. “Our schools play a vital role in not only educating students, but also in ensuring that they are well-nourished and ready to learn. The generous support of PotashCorp helps us provide daily, nutritious meals to our students and further develop our community gardens, where we teach students how to tend the gardens and grow nutrient-rich food while also growing strong minds and bodies for the future.”

“PotashCorp’s support of the nutrition programs in our schools has made a world of difference to our students,” said Diane Boyko, chair of the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Board of Education. “Not only has it helped provide thousands of healthy meals and snacks, we have renovated kitchen facilities in two of our schools where updates were needed. We are very grateful that PotashCorp is renewing its support of our efforts to ensure all students are getting the nutritious healthy food they need to learn and grow.”

Yesterday, PotashCorp announced a $60,000 gift to the Regina Catholic School Division at St. Peter Catholic School. Regina Catholic Schools will use the funds to support nutrition programs in seven schools across its system. An announcement for Regina Public Schools will be made in the near future.

“We believe that health and education are interdependent. By helping our students become healthy, we are helping them succeed,” said Rob Currie, Director of Education for the Regina Catholic School Division. “The money we have received from PotashCorp will go a long way to help us expand our nutrition program and get healthy food into the hands of all the students who need it.”

As the world’s largest crop nutrient company, PotashCorp plays an integral role in global food production. The company produces the three essential nutrients required to help farmers grow healthier, more abundant crops. With global population rising and diets improving in developing countries, crop nutrients such as potash, phosphates and nitrogen offer a responsible and practical solution to help produce the food we need, from the land we have.

 For further information please contact:

PotashCorp Rhonda Speiss Manager, Corporate Philanthropy Phone: (306) 933-8544 Email: Corporate Philanthropy	Regina Catholic School Division Noah Wernikowski Communications Officer Phone: (306) 791-1734 Email: n.wernikowski@rcsd.ca
Saskatoon Public Schools Veronica Baker Communications Officer Phone: (306) 683-8325 Email: bakerv@spsd.sk.ca	Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Donella Hoffman Communications Consultant Phone: (306) 659-7077 Email: dhoffman@gscs.sk.ca