Enders Salk Elementary and Tate & Lyle renew partnership through District 54 Education Foundation

Tate & Lyle, Enders Salk Elementary School, and the District 54 Education Foundation in Schaumburg, IL, US are celebrating their fourth year of partnership this October.

For the past three years, Tate & Lyle has supported Enders Salk Elementary students with healthy breakfasts through the Foundation's Food 4 Thought Breakfast program.

While the partnership may have started with sponsoring breakfast, the connection to local students helped to open doors to volunteering and more.

Across the past three years, Tate & Lyle colleagues have regularly volunteered at Enders Salk, sharing career information with teachers and students, helping to plant and harvest the school garden, and judging their annual science fair.

'The students and staff sincerely appreciate all of the support provided by Tate & Lyle and their employees. Not only do they help with our breakfast program, our relationship has developed into a true partnership,' says Michael Henry, Principal, Enders Salk Elementary. 'We know that we can count on Tate & Lyle to help us run a variety of events, from Read Across Enders, Harvest Day and our school-wide Science Fair, to donating coats and toys for our community closet during the holidays. While this year may be different, we are looking forward to a continued partnership for 2020 and many years to come.'

With the virtual start to the 2020-2021 school year, this year's partnership needed to be more flexible in supporting Enders Salk and District families - ensuring access to nutritious food through the District's Pantry Program was the answer.

'Tate & Lyle has been an integral part of ensuring that District 54 students begin their day ready to learn,' says Tom Manzardo, District 54 Education Foundation Chairman. 'During these unprecedented times, the need to assist District 54 students and families continues to grow every day. We are grateful for Tate & Lyle's commitment to support student success and well-being to fund and restock District 54 food pantries. This donation comes at a crucial time as the district's pantries were emptied at the end of last school year in order to distribute food to students and their families critically affected by the pandemic.'

'We're pleased to continue our support of the Foundation's efforts to assist students and their families at this time of need. As a food ingredients company and corporate partner in the community, ensuring access to meals is a priority as well as foundational to our purpose of improving lives for generations,' says Jennifer Walker, Director, Global Community Relations. 'While we know times remain challenging, we look forward to keeping the connection and learning going in new and creative ways with our friends at the Foundation and Enders Salk.'