Doug Ford says he “totally supports” the national school feeding program

On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared “total support” for Canada’s national school food program, which aims to provide meals to students, confirming at the same time that he is in discussions with the government of Justin Trudeau to set the terms.

I believe it is beneficial for children to have a full stomach. They think better during the dayhe said. We are simply waiting for the amount that the federal government plans to invest.

Furthermore, Toronto City Council would like to be able to provide students with a morning snack, for everyone, starting in the 2026-2027 school year. On Thursday, the council voted 23 to 1 in favor of mobilizing municipal employees who will have to decide next year on the best way to achieve this.

The municipal council also decided to mobilize municipal staff who will have to estimate the funding required to implement existing programs but which the City had to do without during the last two school years, due to lack of subsidies. Mandated employees have until January 21 to take stock.

The federal government estimates that one in four Canadian children does not have enough to eat.

In its most recent budget, last spring, the Trudeau government announced an investment of one billion dollars over five years (New window) to provide meals to 400,000 more children per year.

And for families who manage to sufficiently fill their refrigerator but have difficulty doing so, this program should allow an average participating family of two children to save $800 per year on groceries.noted Jenna SuddsMinister of Families, Children and Social Development, in a message published on the federal government website.

Our government recognizes that partnerships between provinces, territories, Indigenous partners and stakeholders are essential to implementing school food programs that provide children with the food they need to thrive.

Toronto’s plan is visionaryaccording to an expert

Debbie Fieldcoordinator at the Coalition for Healthy School Food, a group of non-profit organizations that work to ensure access to balanced school meals in Canada, describes herself asexciting and of visionary the motion adopted Thursday by Toronto city council.

In interview on the show Metro Morningthe radio morning show CBCMs. Field noted that there is a morning snack program in some 70% of Toronto schools, adding however that many establishments tend to cut back on this area. According to her, funding was tightened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She spoke of the need in certain cases to having to cut a banana into quarters or quarters. It’s very, very difficult.

The province really has a problem right now. Ontario, once a leader in school food, has seen no increase in its program in 10 years.

When you’re hungry, you can’t learn

In a letter addressed to members of Toronto’s executive committee, Mayor Olivia Chow says the cost of the grocery basket is increasing the financial pressure on Toronto families. Nearly one in three people who use food banks in Toronto are youth or children, she said.

In a rich city like ours, thousands of children go to school hungry. When you are hungry, you cannot learn. Each young person must be able to concentrate on their teacher, not on their hunger.

We know that school food programs increase attendance, improve math, science and reading scores, reduce dropouts and create healthier communities.she continues.

Since all three levels of government are around the discussion table, Mayor Chow said she is optimistic that Toronto students will soon benefit from the federal program.

I believe there is now a strong desire to provide decent meals, whether in the form of a morning snack or in the form of dinneradds the chosen one. We will work to deploy a universal school food program, which will fulfill the wishes of many parents and many children.

With information from Alison Chiasson and Muriel Draaisma, CBC