summerlunch+

What summerlunch+ does

summerlunch+ is a registered Canadian charity (BN 130560188 RR0001) operated as a Project of MakeWay, founded in 2015 by Susan Wright to address child food insecurity and food literacy gaps during the Canadian summer when school meal programs are unavailable. The organization's core offering is a free 8-week virtual cooking and nutrition education program for children ages 7-16 and their families, delivered live via Zoom with weekly recipes and either meal kits or grocery gift cards. Recipes are vegetarian and halal, programming is dietitian-led, and the curriculum integrates food literacy, cultural food learning, agriculture and sustainability, budgeting, and nutrition. Beyond the core program, summerlunch+ operates a specialized Diabetes and Lifestyle Program (developed with SickKids Hospital and Toronto Metropolitan University), an Advanced Chef curriculum for returning participants, a bilingual English/French offering, and an Alumni Network, all accessed through the summerlunch+ Hub portal.

The technology layer is intentionally lightweight: Zoom as the synchronous delivery medium, a Squarespace-hosted marketing site, a separate participant portal (hub.summerlunchplus.com) for registration and account management, and content marketing via a blog, email newsletter, and Instagram. Impact is tracked through attendance and photo submissions, with outcomes independently validated through peer-reviewed publications in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes and partnerships with TMU's Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Cumulative reach since 2015 includes 349,800 meals served, 5,600 children engaged, 63,600 hours of food literacy education, 9,500 lbs of fresh produce distributed, and 45 fruit trees planted in Toronto's first urban orchard.

summerlunch+ generates no participant revenue — the program is free — and is funded entirely by charitable donations, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants. Pricing for donors is structured as $40 per meal kit (family of five, 15 servings), $320 to sponsor one child through the full 8-week program, and $25,000 to fund an entire community cohort. Distribution is community-led and virtual-first, with families referred through schools and community partners in specific Canadian electoral ridings. The organization is headquartered in Toronto and, as of 2026, operates 13 partner riding sites across Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, with a flagship national sponsorship from RBC supporting the multi-province rollout. A small staff (Founder/MD, Programs & People Director, Communications & Program Manager, Fundraising Manager) is supplemented by a six-person advisory board.

Name

summerlunch+

Legal name

summerlunch+

Website

https://summerlunchplus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

summerlunch+ is a Canadian registered charity, operated as a Project of MakeWay, that runs a free 8-week virtual cooking and food literacy program for children ages 7-16 in specific electoral ridings. It is funded entirely by donations and grants and serves families across Ontario, BC, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Nutrition & Food Literacy Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition & Diet Education (Meal Planning, Macros, Healthy Cooking) (EDAAAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Nutrition & Meal Programs (CACFP/Snack Programs) (EDACAMAA), Menu Planning, Nutrition & Dietary Accommodation Services (Allergens, Special Diets) (EDAEAEAD)

Keywords

• Child nutrition education
• Food literacy programs
• Cooking skills training
• Virtual community programs
• Food security services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Grants: summerlunch+ is a registered charity (BN 130560188 RR0001) operated as a Project of MakeWay. The organization is entirely funded through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. No revenue is generated from participants; the program is completely free for families.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

summerlunch+ delivers a free 8-week virtual cooking and nutrition education program for children ages 7-16 in specific Canadian electoral ridings, conducted via live Zoom cooking classes and supported by weekly meal kits or grocery gift cards. The dietitian-led curriculum integrates food literacy, hands-on cooking, cultural food learning, agriculture and sustainability education, budgeting, and nutrition education. Specialized offerings include a Diabetes and Lifestyle Program, Advanced Chef Program, bilingual (English/French) programming, and an Alumni Network community.

Product overview

summerlunch+ is a charitable organization operated as a Project of MakeWay that offers a family of programs focused on child nutrition and food literacy education. The core product is the 8-week Core Summerlunch+ Program delivering virtual cooking classes, nutrition education, and grocery support to children ages 7-16. This is supplemented by specialized offerings including a Diabetes and Lifestyle Program developed with TMU and SickKids Hospital, an Advanced Chef Program for returning participants, a Bilingual (French/English) Program, and an Alumni Network for ongoing community engagement. Participants access these programs through the summerlunch+ Hub portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Core Summerlunch+ Program An 8-week virtual cooking and nutrition education program for children ages 7-16, delivering hands-on food literacy education, live Zoom cooking classes, weekly recipes, and grocery gift cards or meal kits to families at no cost. Dietitian-led curriculum integrates cooking, cultural food learning, agriculture/sustainability, budgeting, and nutrition.
• Diabetes and Lifestyle Program A specialized nutrition and cooking education program for children living with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, or managing lifestyle-related conditions such as childhood obesity and pre-diabetes, developed in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University and SickKids Hospital.
• Advanced Chef Program An advanced 8-week module for returning summerlunch+ participants who want to continue learning and growing, building on basic food literacy with new topics, techniques, and challenges.
• Bilingual Program A bilingual (English and French) version of the summerlunch+ program offered to expand accessibility for French-speaking families across operating ridings.
• Alumni Network A continued support and community network for past summerlunch+ participants, providing ongoing inspiration and connection beyond the program's summer season.
• summerlunch+ Hub A participant portal platform for registration, login, and account management for the summerlunch+ program, accessible at hub.summerlunchplus.com.

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant improvements in children's nutrition knowledge, cooking confidence, and positive attitudes toward healthy eating (per Canadian Journal of Diabetes peer-reviewed study)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MakeWaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015MakeWay serves as summerlunch+'s fiscal sponsor and registered charity umbrella organization. summerlunch+ operates as a 'Project of MakeWay' with Charitable Registration Number BN 130560188 RR0001. MakeWay provides administrative, financial, and operational infrastructure support.
• Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTMU collaborates on research and evaluation of summerlunch+ programs. TMU researchers co-authored peer-reviewed publications demonstrating program impact on children's nutrition knowledge and cooking confidence.
• Dalla Lana School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for program research, evaluation, and ongoing innovation in food literacy education.
• SickKids HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSickKids led clinical research to assess the impact of virtual food skills programs for children with Type 1 Diabetes. Research findings published in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes.
• Big Brothers of Greater TorontominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner organization supporting program delivery in Toronto communities.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FoodCorps: US-based nonprofit that connects kids to healthy food in schools through hands-on food education, peer gardens, and cooking. Directly comparable mission of child food literacy, with school-based delivery model and similar age-group targeting.
• Big Green: US-based nonprofit building learning gardens and food literacy programs in schools. Comparable child-targeted food education with hands-on learning and curriculum integration, though focused on gardens rather than cooking classes.
• The Stop Community Food Centre: Toronto-based community food centre delivering food programs, cooking classes, and gardens to low-income communities. Comparable Canadian operations with hands-on cooking education and food security focus, though serving a broader demographic.
• Growing Chefs! Ontario: London, Ontario-based charity running cooking and food literacy programs for children and youth. Closest Canadian direct peer with similar age-group targeting and in-class cooking education model.
• Farm to School Canada: Canadian initiative bringing local food, hands-on learning, and school-community food literacy programs to K-12 students. Comparable educational mission targeting school-aged children with food skills and healthy eating outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• No Kid Hungry (Share Our Strength): US national campaign ending childhood hunger through school meals, summer feeding, and food literacy. Comparable mission but operates at a much larger scale and primarily through meal provision rather than cooking education.
• Food Banks Canada: National charitable organization representing the Canadian food bank network. Overlapping focus on food insecurity in Canada, but with a much bigger footprint and food distribution model rather than education-centric delivery.

Others

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada: National youth mentoring nonprofit that summerlunch+ partners with for community delivery. Comparable Canadian youth-services infrastructure and national footprint, though focused on mentoring rather than food/literacy.

Emerging players

• Wholesome Wave: Nonprofit tackling food insecurity through affordable produce access and nutrition incentive programs. Adjacent mission with some overlap in nutrition education, but focused on produce access rather than cooking skills.

Regional players

• Jamie Oliver Food Foundation: UK-based foundation delivering food education programs to children globally. Comparable mission of food literacy for kids, but operates primarily in UK/Australia/US rather than Canada.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about summerlunch+