SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Businesses in Yellowknife have stepped up to the plate, so to speak, in an effort to get breakfast to kids who would otherwise go without.

The Explorer Hotel's executive chef, Randy Akey, stirs up some vegetable soup on Sunday that was shipped out the next day to a few Yellowknife schools, as well as various communities around the NWT, as part of the Breakfast for Learning organization's child nutrition program. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

The Explorer Hotel has been cooking soup on Sundays since the third week of November to give out to schools around Yellowknife and the NWT in partnership with a program called Breakfast for Learning.

"It's a great cause, it feeds a lot of people, and we're going to try to do it right through the school year," said Jiten Jattan, general manager of the hotel.

At first, the Explorer made around 500 bowls-worth of soup a week, but that amount had to be increased to 700 - all of which is donated to the schools.

Dana Britton, coordinator for Breakfast for Learning's NWT branch, referred to Jattan as her "favourite person in the world right now," when Yellowknifer contacted her on Monday.

The reason for Jattan's high status with Britton is he initiated the soup-making project and contacted her with the offer, which Britton described as "phenomenal."

"The corporate community throughout Yellowknife and throughout the Northwest Territories never fails to surprise me at how generous they are," said Britton.

In addition to the hotel, Air Tindi has waived shipping costs to get the soup out to schools in Gameti, Whati, and Lutsel K'e. DNX Drilling has been delivering the soup around Yellowknife free of charge.

"I bumped into (Corey Redwood, general manager of DNX Drilling) and said, 'Hi, I'm Dana from Breakfast for Learning' and he literally opened his wallet, took out his card and said 'what can I do to help you?'" said Britton.

Breakfast for Learning has been receiving $100,000 a year from BHP Billiton for the last two years, and will be getting another payment of that amount next year.

The mandate of Breakfast for Learning, a national organization with chapters throughout Canada, is to feed kids so they can "focus on their studies instead of their stomachs," according to Britton.

"There are kids who go to school and for a whole variety of reasons may need some extra food to eat," said Britton.

"Maybe they just got up too late and didn't get anything in their bellies before they left, sometimes there's a situation where they're not getting adequate nutrition at home, and sometimes it's just that they're growing and they have unexpected food needs during the day."

Britton said the organization deals with almost all of the schools in the NWT.

The soup from the Explorer Hotel is currently helping to feed students at Weledeh Catholic School, Mildred Hall School, K'alemi Dene School, Kaw Tay Whee School in Dettah, Jean Wetrade Gameti School in Gameti, Lutsel K'e Dene School in Lutsel K'e, and Mezi Community School in Whati.