Monday March 10, 2025 | VANCOUVER, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
School food programs are helping to ensure that children are not underfed.
School food programs provide healthy meals to kids throughout the school year.
“When kids are hungry, they can’t focus—it’s that simple,” says Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
“That’s why we’re making sure more kids in BC get healthy meals at school, with food grown right here in Canada whenever possible. It helps parents save hundreds on groceries, aims to support local farmers and local economies, and most importantly, makes sure kids have the fuel they need to learn—because no child should have to get through the school day on an empty stomach.”
School food programs save working families hundreds of dollars in grocery bills. They also support local economies, farmers and producers by sourcing food grown locally, whenever possible.
Federal funds for BC school programs:
Last Thursday in Vancouver, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jenna Sudds and the BC Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare announced an agreement that will enable British Columbia to enhance school food programs for 90,000 children in just over 1,000 schools across the province this school year.
With this agreement, families in British Columbia with two children in school can save an estimated $800 in grocery bills a year on average, says the Ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada.
“Every child deserves healthy food to learn and grow and we are ensuring that more students have access to nutritious food at school. This investment supports families, strengthens communities and helps kids succeed. With programs like Feeding Futures and the National School Food Program, we are building a brighter, healthier future for students across the province,” says Minister Beare.
Feeding Futures aims to provide students with stigma-free access to nutritious, locally sourced food, enhancing their learning outcomes and fostering stronger connections with their school communities.
In 2023, the Ministry of Education and Child Care of British Columbia allocated $71.5 million annually in dedicated, multi-year funding to school districts to create and expand school food programs in schools.
Beare said that BC has had school food programs in ninety per cent of its schools since 2023. The increased funding means the programs will reach more students.
Helping working families:
The National School Food Program is a direct investment into the middle class—helping teachers and making mornings a little easier for working families, says the federal government.
It is also a safety net for the children and youth who need this support the most.
Building a national school food program is part of the federal government’s commitment to help make life more affordable for families across the country. We’re creating more middle-class jobs, building more homes, expanding affordable dental care and creating more affordable child care spaces—so they can buy the things they need and save for the things they want.
“We all want people to have the supports they need to build better lives, and for children to have the best start possible,” says Sheila Malcolmson, BC Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.
“Leading work on food security is an important part of my mandate. That’s why we’re taking action to bring down costs for families; and programs like the National School Food Program are helping us provide nutritious food to support the health and success of our children,” says Malcolmson.
Increasing the number of students served:
As part of this agreement, the Government of Canada will invest approximately $39.4 million over the next three years to enhance school food programs at more than 1,000 schools in the province to feed more kids, including in rural and remote areas.
This investment will mean important improvements to school food programs such as increasing the number students served, purchasing much-needed school kitchen equipment, and increasing the nutritional value of school meals which will provide more inclusive menu options that take into account dietary restrictions and cultural preferences.
Local food:
Now more than ever, families are choosing to eat local, and this is reflected in BC’s school food programming, which aims to build strong community partnerships with local growers and food producers to see more BC food in schools, ultimately investing back in local economic growth, where possible.
Across the country:
Following the recently announced agreements with Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Quebec, British Columbia is the latest to join forces with the Government of Canada to ensure children have access to nutritious school meals.
“We will continue working with all provinces, territories, Indigenous partners and stakeholders to ensure every child in Canada has the food they need to reach their full potential,” it is stated by the Ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada.
===== GOVERNMENT LINKS:
- Feeding the future today: Canada’s National School Food Program
- National School Food Policy
- What We Heard Report
- Budget 2024: Fairness for every generation
- Feeding Futures program – British Columbia
===== RELATED:
- National Food Cooperative Strategy introduced by Alistair MacGregor (November 30, 2024)
- Liberals deliver on NDP push for national school food program in Budget 2024 (April 1, 2024)
- Feeding Futures funding expands school food programs in BC (April 5, 2023)
- Premier Eby announces $200 million for BC food security initiatives (March 7, 2023)
NEWS SECTIONS: CHILDREN AND CHILD CARE | CANADIAN FEDERAL ELECTION 2025 | URBAN FOOD RESILIENCE | K-12 EDUCATION