Doug Ford says he's 'all in' on national school food program

For Ontario parents struggling to put food in their child's backpack each day, help could be on the way.

On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters he's "all in" on a federal plan to provide meals to students and confirmed the province is in talks with the federal government to work out details.

"We're in the midst of discussions right now with the feds," Ford told reporters at an unrelated news conference. 

"I think it's so helpful for kids to have a little meal in them. It makes them think better during the day. We're just waiting to hear the amount from the federal government what they're going to be pitching in."

On Thursday, Toronto city council voted 23 to 1 to direct staff to report back next year on how best to create a universal student lunch program that would provide a free mid-morning meal to students by the 2026-2027 school year. Council decided it wants to have the program in place no later than 2030.

Council also decided to direct city staff to look at the funding required to deliver existing student food programs by January in 21 schools that applied in the last two school years and were deemed eligible, but were denied due to a lack of funding.

Food insecurity is a huge issue for parents, students and educators. An estimated one in four children in Canada do not get enough food, according to the federal government.

On April 1, the federal government announced a $1 billion plan over five years to feed children across the country, as part of its budget this year. It's now working out deals with provinces to implement the program.

Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, said on the federal government's website that the national school food program is expected to provide meals for up to 400,000 students per year and to save a family with two children as much as $800 a year in grocery costs.

"Our government recognizes that partnerships between provinces, territories, Indigenous partners and stakeholders are essential to implementing school food programs that ensure children have the proper nourishment they need to thrive," Sudds said.

Toronto lunch program plan 'visionary,' expert says

Debbie Field, coordinator for the Coalition for Healthy School Food, a group of non-profit organizations that work to make sure children across Canada have access to healthy meals at school, described the Toronto council motion as "exciting" and "visionary." She said the city wants to make sure that every child has a healthy meal at school every day. 

Field said in an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning that there is a mid-morning snack program at about 70 per cent of schools in Toronto, but many schools are cutting back. She said the snack program needs to be fixed because funding became tighter during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Councillors and the mayor spoke about having to cut a banana into four or six pieces. It's just really very, very difficult," Field said.

Field said the city motion is coming at a historic time because of the federal government's commitment to funding for school meals.

"The province is really a problem right now. Ontario, which used to be a leader on school food, hasn't had an increase to its food program in 10 years."

'When you're hungry, you can't learn,' mayor says

In a Sept. 30 letter to council's executive committee, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the cost of groceries is putting pressure on families in the city, where nearly one in three food bank clients are children and young people. 

"The reality is, in our city with so much wealth, we have thousands of kids going to school every single day hungry. When you're hungry, you can't learn. We need our kids to be able to focus on their teacher, not their hunger," Chow wrote.

"We know that student meal programs increase attendance, improve math, science and reading scores, reduce dropouts, and create healthier communities."

Chow told council this week that she is optimistic that Toronto students will benefit soon from the federal plan because all three levels of government are at the table.

"I think there is now a great desire for us to provide a decent meal, whether it is between breakfast and lunch, or a lunch. We'll work toward a universal food program in schools and that would answer the prayers of a whole lot of parents and a whole lot of kids," Chow said.