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.

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.