Jonathan Toews is back home in Winnipeg to show his support for a local initiative meant to keep kids healthy and well fed.

The Winnipeg Foundation dished out more than $116,000 in grants to 23 organizations through its Nourishing Potential Fund on Thursday. The program aims to help provide healthy meals and snacks for kids at drop-ins and summer programs, as well as to educate kids on how to prepare healthy food.

The Chicago Blackhawks centre joined Premier Greg Selinger, Mayor Brian Bowman and Jobs and Economy Minister Kevin Chief at the Old Exhibition Arena to help mark the announcement. The fund has already raised $885,000 since 2011.

Jonathan Toews, a centre for the Chicago Blackhawks, helped announced a round of grants issued to local drop-in and summer programs in Winnipeg Thursday. (CBC) Toews talked about how good nutrition helps him stay competitive against other elite athletes, and how it has also led to success off the ice.

"Knowing the importance of healthy eating, especially for young inner-city kids in Winnipeg, I think they deserve the best and deserve the same opportunities I got," Toews said.

"What we eat on a day-to-day basis, that healthy lifestyle is a huge foundation for achieving that. So I've been lucky to be able to grow up that way .... I'm happy and excited to be able to give that opportunity to young kids, who may not have had it otherwise."

The Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre (WASAC), one of the organizations that received money, runs a day camp and hosted the event. Tyler Robinson, a leader with WASAC, said Toews' presence made the day special for kids in his program.

"It's a once in a lifetime thing," said Robinson. "It would be a big surprise if I was a child. You think that you come to camp and it's just another day at camp, and then you realize that Jonathan Toews has been backing it up and … it's incredible."

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg, Inner City Youth Alive, Rainbow Resource Centre, FortWhyte Alive, and others were among the organizations to receive grants Thursday.

Toews has signed on to help the program raise $1 million by the end of summer.