We’ve always believed that a nourished child is a happy child. When we fill a hungry tummy with wholesome food, we do more than just satisfy hunger—we help children focus on learning, free from the distraction of growls and pangs. Their hopes and dreams grow stronger, and their bodies and minds thrive.
Today, thanks to the unwavering commitment of our expanding network of partners, we proudly nourish over a million tummies across Canada. This collective impact fills us with pride and gratitude, as we continue to steward this meaningful mission.
As we evolve, so do our initiatives. Our beloved ‘Toonies for Tummies’ campaign will return in January 2025 under a new name: “Make Happy Tummies.” Similarly, our Breakfast Voucher program, which allows student nutrition programs to access healthy products at significant savings, will now be known as the “Make Happy Tummies Voucher Program”. Though our name and logo have changed to reflect our growing mission, our vision remains steadfast—to ensure no child goes to school hungry.
Join us in this journey to make happy tummies and help ensure every child is well nourished and ready to learn. Together, we can create a future where every child’s tummy is a happy one.
Several reasons which can be grouped into three areas:
Our reverence for our history and a desire to spotlight our impact: The Grocery Foundation was established over four decades ago by like-minded leaders with a vision and shared understanding of the magnified and scaled impact we stood to bring about by working alongside one another. Our name spoke to who we were, not what we were offering by way of impact.
We’ve always believed when we nourish a child and fill their tummy with goodness, it makes them happy. What might be bigger worries and the prospect of trying to learn with the pangs and growls of hunger ease away. Make Happy Tummies also aptly embodies the joy of childhood and the many emotional and physical benefits that come from the meals we are helping to provide
Make Happy Tummies captures the impact of our vision that no child in Canada goes to school hungry and our mission to get that healthy food to them. It’s uplifting, aspirational and resonated well with Canadians. Canadians we spoke to told us it evokes joy, is eye-catching and fits with our cause. We believe that will work well for us and our partners in-store and online.
Capitalize on synergies and support our growth: As responsible brand stewards, we’re looking to the future and believe Make Happy Tummies not only reflects the impact we’re having but will best set us up as a unique grocery industry community to help achieve our vision: No Child Goes to School Hungry in Canada.
It’s important to note: Our name and logo have changed. But our purpose has not. And with your help we will continue to make tummies happy and fulfill our vision: No hungry kids/children at school.
A branded house will bring more alignment across our properties and support our brand awareness and growth goals. In speaking with members of our industry during this process, it became evident that the full scope of our activities was not well understood. With a common master brand, we hope to drive greater awareness, including around the unique benefits and opportunities our various initiatives including custom programs we can create with brand-owners and organizations tied to their year-round and multi-year ESG strategies. We invite companies and brands not yet part of our mission to connect with us and explore how they can get involved.
Shoppers’ interest in the cause and evolution in donations beyond a toonie in-store and online: We’re looking to the future and in the context of how the world has changed. What began as an ask for a toonie has become an ask at some retailers for $2, $5, and more in-store, as well as donations online starting at $25. What’s more, we’re growing our footprint in foodservice. In September, Stacked Pancake House is having their second annual fundraiser. They are one of the fastest growing dining out franchises in the country and we’re honoured to partner with them. We’re equally pleased to share that a Canadian steakhouse, MR MIKES SteakhouseCasual is also about to announce an ongoing donation drive across their franchises also in Western Canada and Ontario.
At this time, we are sharing news with our industry partners. Our focus in the coming days and months is to share this news with the grocery industry. We will go live public-facing January 2, 2025 to coincide with the return of our shopper marketing campaign. We will continue to work to raise much-needed donations for hungry children while shining a spotlight on the brands and organizations that are standing with us and Canadian children and youth. There is a wonderful story to be told as we help nourish over 1 million-plus children coast to coast and support an increasing number of student nutrition programs.
There will be no change to how the Night to Nurture will be marketed or referenced. The information for the upcoming 2025 gala will continue to be found on groceryfoundation.com. We encourage everyone to purchase their tickets starting September 20. It’s going to be another wonderful evening that stands to help change the lives of many children and youth.
Questions about the new brand/rebrand? We invite you to please email: Brandhelp@makehappytummies.ca.
Toonies for Tummies remains a property owned by The Foundation. We may deploy it tactically in the future, but for now, our focus is on building awareness and engagement for Make Happy Tummies.
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