When an out-of-town donor with a Burlington connection wanted to make a gift to the Burlington Food Bank by placing an order for Tim Hortons Smile Cookies, they needed to find some hungry cookie eaters.
At the Burlington Food Bank, there was already a connection with the students and staff at Trinity Christian School, and principal Jean-Daniel Lussier knew that students could be counted on to enjoy cookies.
So Smile Cookie week 2026 in Burlington kicked off Monday with 27 dozen cookies and over 300 smiles, as happy students and teachers munched on crunchy, happy sweetness for a good cause.
“It was great,” said Christina Mulder, Executive Director of the Burlington Food Bank, who visited the school to meet with students. “This is truly the fun part of my job. Getting to connect with youth and share how they are making a difference in their community is a blessing. Their great questions and fabulous energy around what we do at the food bank and how their food drive donation helped so many community members, was amazing.”
Grade 4 teacher Stephanie Sagués organized the school’s food drive in February for “Kindness Month” at Trinity. She devised custom bingo cards for the student teams to focus their efforts, using the food bank’s online “Most Needed” list for the card. Sagués was hoping the generosity of Trinity’s community, the empathy of students, and some good-old-fashioned competitive spirit would combine to make the food drive a success.
Her hopes came true.
Students and their families rose to the challenge, donating hygiene items, canned meats, legumes and peanut butter – bigger ticket items that are especially welcomed by food bank customers.
“For the five years I’ve been at Trinity, they have always done a food drive for the Burlington Food Bank,” Sagués said, “but there has never been one as successful as this one.”
Sagués said she knew ‘the Trinity community is very giving, and I went into this idea full of faith that God has a plan for it. ‘Love your neighbour’ is ingrained at everything we do, and when you walk into the building there is love: loving our neighbour, loving each other, and loving our community in the ways that we can.”
The school used the food drive to teach students of all ages that it’s not hard to be kind, and that kindness is not just a month, Sagués said.
That approach is appreciated by the food bank, Mulder said.
“Trinity Christian School is raising compassionate, community-minded humans and their efforts to bring the importance of giving back into the youth’s every day life is admirable. They have had several successful food drives and we look forward to supporting their efforts in the future.”
The food bank is also grateful for other community partners. The Smile Cookie partnership with Tim Hortons has raised over a million dollars since 2012, and many other schools, churches and community groups support the food bank’s efforts, Mulder said. “These partnerships are deeply meaningful to us, as they help foster a spirit of compassion, community involvement, and social responsibility among young people.”
Mulder also wants people to know food banks are not the answer. “The growing demand for our services reflects broader challenges related to housing affordability, inadequate incomes, and the rising cost of living,” Mulder said. “We remain committed to serving our neighbours today while working alongside partners to create a future where everyone has access to the food and resources they need to thrive.”
That’s the kind of future the staff and students at Trinity Christian School are working towards too – seeking the flourishing of every student so that they can go on to serve their communities as agents of hope and renewal, said principal Lussier.
“As part of our mission, we inspire learners to reflect Jesus everywhere, by being his hands and feet, bearing fruit in the process,” Lussier said. “One of the ways is giving back to the Burlington community, teaching students what it means to grow as disciples of Jesus, as we give of our time and treasure.”
