A food program meant to help hungry students in Parkland County, just west of Edmonton, has received a major funding boost.

A $400,000 federal grant will allow the Our Community Pantry project , operated by the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove, to increase the number of school lunches it provides each week from 900 to 5,000 within two years, the organization said in a news release.

“We need to grow and we need to become at least five times as big as we are to meet demand,” said program manager Dianne Brown.

The program currently provides food to 21 schools in the Parkland School Division, but Brown said she hopes to expand the program to additional school divisions.

“The grant has so [many] possibilities for us. Our imagination is the barrier.” WATCH | A grant could make a big differ

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