Establishing a national school food program in Canada

Canada is the only G7 country without a nationally harmonized school food program, lagging most of the world’s wealthiest nations in providing universal access to healthy meals and snacks at school.

This is a critical gap, felt more strongly in a time of skyrocketing grocery bills, high inflation, and stressed family budgets. By establishing a national school food program, Canada would take steps to ensure children across the country can obtain the healthy food they need to succeed in the classroom and in their communities.

A healthy diet is important for everyone, and especially crucial for children. School nutrition programs also have far-reaching benefits. Countries with a national school food program have documented better academic performance, improved short- and long-term health for children, help for family budgets, and improved efficiency in the healthcare system.

By integrating nutrition education into established curricula, a national school food program would also encourage children to adopt lifelong healthy eating habits. It is time for Canada to catch up to its peers in the G7 and establish a universal, comprehensive and culturally appropriate National School Food Program in collaboration with local communities, provinces, territories and Indigenous leaders.

What is a National School Food Program?  

Ideally, a National School Food Program would provide universal access to nutritious food at school for children from junior kindergarten to Grade 12. It could also integrate nutrition education into existing curriculum and be supported by hands-on learning that help students develop healthy culinary and food literacy skills.

By creating a program that is accessible to all students, a national school food program would reduce stigma, fund a quality physical infrastructure and employ qualified staff. Individual communities should retain autonomy, utilizing federal funding to deliver culturally appropriate nutritious food and (where possible) culinary instruction.

How could it work? 

A national school food program would be cost-shared between the ministries in the federal government, the provinces, territories, local communities and developed in consultation with Indigenous peoples. Local school districts and/or community partners would administer the program, retaining autonomy over food choices within established nutritional guidelines.

All Canadian students, especially those in underserved rural and remote communities, should have access to nutritious meals and snacks, such as school breakfast, snack, and lunch programs.

What are the benefits of a National School Food Program?  

Health. School food programs improve student health by increasing their consumption of healthy whole foods. School food programs can also decrease consumption of foods that may be high in fat, sugar and sodium, thereby helping reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.  

Education. Access to healthy food at school has been shown to improve academic performance, graduation rates, punctuality and attendance.  

Mental health. School food programs are shown to reduce anxiety and depression, while also decreasing bullying and aggressive behaviour.

Economic growth. School food programs create jobs for food service workers and may strengthen communities when they provide markets for local food producers.

Women and families. School food programs can take the pressure off household budgets and working parents. Women more often shoulder the burden of meal preparation, which is especially challenging when working long hours.

Canada’s economy.  If kids are healthier and better nourished, they are more likely to both stay in school and excel academically. This will translate into economic benefits down the road.

Recent Research

Arrell Scholar alumna Dr. Amberley Ruetz recently released a new report on the economic benefits of a national school food program. Using results from countries similar to Canada, research shows that a national school food program could:

• Save families up to $189 per child per month on grocery bills – a savings of between $2,580 to $3,780 per year for a family with two children.
• Contribute $4.8 billion to local economies through domestic food purchases over 10 years.
• Increase the lifetime earnings of students by up to 5.8%.
• Increase mothers’ labour market participation by 5%.

Overall, research suggests that the economic return of school food programs is between 2.5x-7x of their cost in human health and economic benefits.

How can we get this started? 

A large grassroots community is active across the country, working in communities and provinces from coast to coast to coast. For example, in August 2023, the NGO Coalition for Healthy School Food asked the federal government to allocate $1 billion over five years to establish a National School Food Program. If this happens, it will provide a stable foundation for a program in which costs are shared between provincial and local governments, and individual school districts.

While establishing a universal program is the goal, in the meantime provinces and community groups are not waiting to get programs going. PEI, BC, and Ontario all have recently increased provincial student nutrition plan budgets and launched projects and initiatives that target at-risk communities. Many of these existing school food programs in Canada are funded by volunteer grassroots organizations and charities, a model that does not guarantee universal coverage or financial sustainability.  Hence, federal support is needed.

There is also an urgent need to make sure schools have the basic infrastructure they need to deliver a national school food program.  This includes the purchase of kitchen equipment, retrofits, food procurement delivery hubs, and other in-school requirements to provide healthy meals and snacks at school for all Canadian children.

The Coalition also recommends negotiating independent school food policy agreements with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis leaders to ensure sustainable long-term funding for Indigenous school food programs.

In the long run, Canadians would save billions of dollars a year by adopting more healthy eating habits. The preventable cost of nutrition-related disease in Canada is estimated at $13.8 billion annually. Seen in this context, a National School Food Program would save Canadian taxpayers money over time.

Where do we stand on a National School Food Program?  

Canada’s federal government committed to establish a national school food program in its 2019 budget and working on both school nutrition policies and programs are in multiple mandate letters.  As of today, there isn’t funding to implement.

What needs to happen next?

We believe that our country should join our G7 partners and other wealthy nations who already provide children with universal, comprehensive and culturally-appropriate access to healthy food at school.

Interested in learning more?

Arrell Food Institute brought together internationally recognized topic experts for an online webinar on October 25, 2023, to discuss the benefits and impact of school food programs. View a recording of the webinar and the following resources to learn more and join the nation-wide conversation.

• School Food Programs: Inequity Across Canada (Infographic)
• What We Heard: Minister Gould’s Roundtable on the National School Food Policy
• The Economic Rationale for Investing in School Meal Programs for Canada by Arrell Scholar Alumna Amberley Ruetz
• Spotlight: School Food and Nutrition
• Time for Action: Critical Next Steps to Create a National School Food Program

For more information, contact afiinfo@uoguelph.ca.