Federal government commits to creation of national school food program

The federal government says it will launch a national school food program, hoping to deliver meals to an additional 400,000 children per year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made the announcement during an event in Toronto on Monday, the latest in a series of public appearances by the prime minister and his cabinet ministers ahead of the federal budget planned for April 16.

«We all want kids to have the best start in life, including the most vulnerable,» Trudeau said during the event.

«When a kid walks up before class and says 'I'm hungry,' it means we all have more work to do as a school community and as a country.»

The federal government will spend $1 billion over five years to implement the program. That figure mirrors a 2021 campaign promise made by the governing Liberals.

Freeland said the government hoped to have the program in place for the 2024-2025 school year.

Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program, according to the Breakfast Club of Canada. Advocates have argued that a national program is needed to fill gaps left by a patchwork of provincial, local and charitable programs that are under strain due to low resources and high food prices.

«Canadian families are struggling. With inflation pushing food prices to stratospheric levels, we know that a national school food program would help children and youth access nutritious food, which would then support their mental health, behaviour and study habits,» Debbie Field, co-ordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, said in a Feb. 27 media statement.

The school food program is not one of the policy provisions set out under the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence deal, which has seen the New