A beloved Kingston brunch tradition is helping ensure students across the region are well fed and ready to learn. The recent Zal and Rose fundraising breakfasts at Chez Piggy and Pan Chancho raised over $30,000 in support of the Zal and Rose Yanovsky Breakfast Fund at the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area.
For Food Sharing Project Executive Director Andy Mills, the breakfasts are about much more than dollars raised. “It is not just a fundraiser, it is a community event,” he said. “It has been decades now, and it has really become a little piece of local history. People come together around good food to make sure kids in our schools have what they need.”
Through the endowed fund held at the Community Foundation, proceeds from the event provide a stable, predictable source of support for student nutrition programs every year. Last year, income from the endowment was just over $24,000, and the organization has budgeted for roughly $25,000 in 2026, depending on growth and investment returns. “It is nice to be able to count on it, bank on it, put it in the budget and know that that is coming,” Andy explained. “It is a significant amount of money, and it helps us plan.”
That reliability matters at a time when more students are arriving at school needing more than just a quick snack. The Food Sharing Project is expanding its “Lunch is Ready!” prepared meal program, including new high school hubs that use school kitchens to prepare nutritious lunches for groups of neighbouring schools. “We are seeing a small but growing proportion of students who need more than crackers and cheese,” Andy said. “They need a filling meal with fruit, milk, and protein, and we are trying to figure out the best way to do that.”
In fact, in 2025 the City of Kingston declared a food emergency, with approximately one in three households in the KFLA region living with food insecurity
For restauranteur Zoe Yanovsky, owner of Chez Piggy and Pan Chancho, hosting the Zal and Rose breakfasts is a highlight of the year. “This was another tremendous success,” she said. “It is really the defining event of the year for us, and we love doing it. We are grateful for everyone who comes out and supports us year after year and helps ensure that no students go hungry in our community.”
By combining a cherished local tradition with the power of an endowment, the Zal and Rose breakfasts are helping the Food Sharing Project feed students today, while building a stronger foundation for the future.
