Implementing a Universal School Food Program

In September, the Coalition for Healthy School Food submitted a House of Commons Petition to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to call upon the Government of Canada to meet its platform commitment by providing $1 billion over 5 years for school food with an immediate investment of $200 million in Budget 2024.

On Tuesday, December 12th, the Government of Canada provided its official response to the petition.

We would like to acknowledge the Government of Canada for their efforts to build the social safety net for families across Canada and we urge them to add school food to this list of programs. We see a National School Food Program as an important complement and next step of these policies as it would support families and advance the health and wellbeing of children and youth.

Hunger hinders learning. Nova Scotians have been reassured that children who come to school hungry will be fed but, from research and experience, we know that not all children, especially as they get older, will self-identify as needing food. This is the impact of stigma, and the reason why universal programs are so important.

When we ensure universal access and aim for universal participation, we can also benefit from all the other advantages of healthy school food. Students can learn food skills and gain volunteer experience. There are positive economic spinoffs in our communities – including revenue for local farmers and decent wages and professional development for food service workers.

As we continue to make progress toward a federally funded school food program, questions surrounding the implementation of this program have surfaced. Created in the hopes of sharing as much information as possible, the following resource is the result of those questions and others.