Giving a gift like goats, chickens, or bees is really giving the Best.Gift.Ever. These symbolic gifts are life-changing for children and families around the world. Every gift in our Best.Gift.Ever catalogue has been identified by the communities we support as being vitally important to ensure children's health and well-being.

The gifts of school meals, gardens, reading books, clean water, community-building programs and all other items are provided as part of the broader programming implemented by Canadian Feed The Children and our local partners. When you purchase a Best.Gift.Ever, funds go towards the range of development programs in the communities we support.

The projects go beyond the simple provision of items; they also include training, project monitoring and evaluation, local expertise and support everything needed to deliver effective, sustainable, high-impact and meaningful change in a community.

We've compiled some stories to give you a look into the impact of the gifts in the lives of children.

Zoe working in the garden

At 14, Zoe from Neyaashiinigmiing in Ontario has more experience than most in working toward food sovereignty. Firmly embedded in her Indigenous food traditions and heritage, Zoe has championed for food security and food sovereignty all her life.

From her Elders, she’s learned how to grow food and eat from the land and leads her peers in tending the school orchard and produce garden.

Zoe says “Our community is filled with caring and loving people and I feel really safe living here. That’s why I’ve been proud to be a part of our school and community gardening programs. It’s really great to see everybody come together and make something that we can all benefit from. I’ve also learned a lot about food that grows within our native lands. I enjoy harvesting wild foods like leeks, morels, puffballs and apples. I also like to go partridge hunting with my Papa. Sometimes, we are able to give some of the food that we’ve gathered to other people in the community. This makes me feel good about myself".

We at Canadian Feed The Children have been honoured to watch Zoe grow over the years into the young leader she is today. Zoe challenges us all to think of how our small actions can make a big impact.

By buying a Best.Gift.Ever you are helping children like Zoe learn the importance of regaining food sovereignty and supporting programs like school and community gardens, Indigenous knowledge education and much more!

School Meals

School meals ($75) are the heart and soul of our Canadian programming and ensure children in First Nations communities are nourished in their bodies, minds and spirits.

All of CFTC's Canadian school food programs - like this one here at Elsipogtog First Nation in Elsipogtog FN, NB - provide well-balanced, breakfasts, lunches and snacks.

School food programs increasingly include a nutrition education component, to create a long-term impact on food security, nutrition and health for children and parents alike.

Mariam, a 15-year-old girl who lives in Ghana, found studying on her own difficult, especially because of the lack of books.

She wasn’t the only student with this challenge, so teachers at her school began a reading club with the help of donations from CFTC supporters.

Mariam says that the reading club has helped boost her self-confidence and improve her grades. She’s gone from struggling with reading to finding joy in her favourite new hobby.

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