Proposed Toronto budget would increase funds for school food programs by nearly $6M

Toronto's proposed 2025 budget would increase funding for school food programs by nearly $6 million, the city says.

Mayor Olivia Chow, speaking at Islington Junior Middle School in Etobicoke Monday, said the increase in funding is needed because it would mean more children at a greater number of schools will receive healthy food daily. She said many residents are having trouble putting food on the table and school nutrition programs help to ensure student success.

The proposed budget will boost funding from $19.3 million in 2024 to $25.2 million in 2025, an increase that will enable the food programs to feed an additional 21,500 children at 48 schools, according to the city.

"Torontonians are struggling, groceries are more expensive, and for many, life is just not very affordable," Chow told reporters at the news conference.

"We won't give up until every kid has access to a mid-morning meal by 2026 so children can focus on learning, not on their grumbling tummies. We know the impact of food. We know children can't learn when they are hungry. Having good food leads to stronger and healthier kids — better learning, grades go up, attendance goes up, happier kids and happier parents."

In November, Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank released a report that showed that more than one in 10 Toronto residents rely on food banks. In 2024, there were 3.5 million visits to food banks, three times as many visits as before the pandemic. One in three food bank users are children, which means they are waking up hungry and dependent on food banks.

In December, Chow declared food insecurity to be an emergency in the city following a motion passed by Toronto city council at its December meeting. The city will now integrate the declaration into its Poverty Reduction Strategy, Food Charter and School Food Program.

According to the motion, the city will ask the province to increase funding immediately to existing school food programs. It will also ask it to increase funding for student nutrition to enable school food programs to expand to additional schools. The aim is to build a universal school food program, the motion says.

Also, the city will ask the provincial and federal governments to address the causes of food insecurity by doing the following:

• Enhancing income security programs and indexing them to inflation. These include Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, Canada Child Benefit, Canada Disability Benefit, Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
• Promoting decent work through secure, quality jobs, living wages and workplace benefits.
• Together with the city, investing in building and maintaining deeply affordable housing.

Ontario's ministry of children, community and social services said in a statement on Monday that it invests $28.2 million in the Student Nutrition Program and $4.4 million in the First Nations Student Nutrition Program yearly, with additional funding coming from municipalities, corporate donations, industry associations and charities.

"We continue to work across government to make life more affordable for Ontarians," the ministry said.

The ministry said the federal government has announced it will make a new investment of $108.5 million over three years in Ontario's student nutrition programs.

As for other measures, the ministry said the province has increased ODSP rates by 17 per cent since September 2022. The rates are tied to inflation, with increases happening each July. It has also increased the earnings exemption by 400 per cent for people on ODSP.

Neethan Shan, chair of the Toronto District School Board, said the board, with the help of the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, supports 823 school and community based programs that provide 231,000 nutritious meals every single school day.

"Proper nutrition is crucial for all of our students. Not only for their good health, they need proper nutrition for their academic success," Shan said.

'Declarations require action,' food bank CEO says

Neil Hetherington, CEO of Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank, said the provincial and federal governments need to do more about food insecurity.

"What is happening in Toronto is obscene. There are more than one in 10 Torontonians who now have to make use of the Daily Bread Food Bank," he said. "In a city as wonderful as ours is, that shouldn't be the case."

Hetherington said what is needed is affordable housing, appropriate income supports and a reduction in precarious employment to enable people to feed themselves.

"We are not going to get there simply by declarations. Those declarations require action. And today is one step forward in that action."