Every child deserves the best start in life. But today, too many children in Canada are not getting the food they need. Study after study has shown that kids learn better on a full stomach. That’s why school meal programs are so important – they support families and help children get the nutrition they need to learn and grow.
With Budget 2024, we are ensuring that every generation has a fair, healthy future – starting from childhood.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today unveiled the federal government’s school food policy, which describes our plan to create and deliver a National School Food Program across Canada.
With an investment of $1 billion over five years, the school meal program, included in the 2024 budget, will provide meals to up to 400,000 additional kids each year, beyond what is provided by the current school meal program. This will mean peace of mind for parents and healthy meals for children – helping them learn, grow and get the best start in life. On average, the National School Food Program is expected to save participating families with two children up to $800 per year on grocery bills.
The new strategy sets out the vision, principles and goals for school food programming across Canada and will guide the creation of a National School Food Program in collaboration with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners, with a focus on access, flexibility, inclusiveness. , sustainability and better health.
The school’s food program is part of our work to support families and make life less expensive. These include the Canada Child Benefit, which provides families with up to $7,437 per child this benefit year, Early Learning and Care Canada, which has already halved fees for organized child care on average across the country, and the Canada Dental Care Program, which will trips to the dentist more affordable for up to 9 million uninsured Canadians. Safe countries invest in themselves and these investments grow and build our communities, our families and our economies.
These are just some of the things we are doing in Budget 2024 to build a better and fairer future for every generation. We’re also building more homes, improving health care and investing in innovation – so all Canadians have a fair chance to succeed.
Quotations
“Fairness for every generation starts right from childhood. Supported by this new policy, our school meal plan is a direct investment in our children’s future. This will support families, parents and kids by providing school meals, so our youngest can reach their full potential – feeling healthy and happy.
“Today, rising food prices make it difficult for families, especially millennial and Gen Z parents, to afford the food their children need. Our new $1 billion National Food Program will help 400,000 more kids get the food they need to thrive – so that every child in Canada can have a fair chance at a good, healthy life.
“Equity for every generation means we support each other at every stage of life – and that starts from childhood.” The National School Food Policy is a roadmap to support parents with higher food costs and get more healthy food on the plates of growing kids so they can focus on learning and reach their full potential.
“No child should have an empty stomach and no parent should have to worry about their child going hungry at school. That’s why we launched the school meal program to ensure that children in every community are healthy and happy at school.”
Fast facts
- The $1 billion school food program includes investments that will support school food programming for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities as well as autonomous and modern treaty communities, many of whom experience the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada. Investments will also support capacity building and collaboration with Indigenous partners to develop culturally appropriate solutions. These partnerships will aim to address food insecurity by promoting Indigenous-led solutions and will advance our work on reconciliation.
- School meal programs provide children and youth with meals and snacks at school, often at little cost to participating families. Providing food to children and youth provides many benefits, including reducing hunger, improving diet and health, supporting the local economy, and reducing food-related expenses for families.
- According to Statistics Canada’s projections, by 2022, 22.3 per cent of families and more than 2.1 million children under the age of 18 in Canada reported experiencing some form of food insecurity in the past 12 months.
- To give every child the best start in life, Budget 2024 also:
- Increase training for youth teachers. We’re investing $10 million over two years to train more preschool teachers, building the skills needed to expand high-quality, affordable childcare.
- Improve child care access for military families. Military service often requires frequent moves and deployments, making quality childcare more than just a convenience. Budget 2024 invests $100 million over five years to give the Canadian military and their families better access to child care on bases across Canada.
- The creation of a new young people’s mental health fund to ensure younger generations have the access they need to mental health support, so they can start adulthood in a healthy way. Budget 2024 proposes an investment of $500 million over five years to ensure young people have access to mental health support in the community.
- Ensure a brighter and more successful future for First Nations children, youth and communities with a proposed new investment of $1.2 billion in First Nations Kindergarten to Grade 12 education and $242.7 million to expand access to post-secondary education for First Nations students.
- Keeping our children safe by protecting them from online harm. Budget 2024 proposes an investment of $7.5 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to Public Health Canada to support Kids Help Phone in its work to provide mental health, counseling and crisis support to young people.
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