National school food program called ‘transformative’ for Windsor-Essex

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Marking the first federal investment of its kind, the Canadian government has earmarked $1 billion in the upcoming budget for a national school food program, which local groups say will help more students in Windsor-Essex learn on full stomachs. 

“I don’t think there is a community in Canada that will benefit more from this program than Windsor-Essex,” said local MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh).

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“You can have the best teacher in the world at the front of the classroom, but that teacher will not be able to reach a child if that child is hungry.”

Kusmierczyk added that Windsor-Essex County contends with one of the country’s highest child poverty rates.

In priority neighbourhoods identified by the United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County — including the city’s west end, the downtown core, and Leamington — one in every third child comes from an impoverished household.

And yet the local area represents “the fruit and vegetable basket of North America,” Kusmierczyk said. “We have the highest concentration of greenhouses. There’s no reason why any child in our community should go to school hungry.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled plans on Monday to allocate $1 billion over the next five years for a nationwide school food program.

Ontario is set to receive 40 per cent of the pot — roughly $400 million — which will boost existing breakfast and lunch programs in schools throughout the area.

The investment is expected to offer meals to more than 400,000 students across Canada, while also saving families of four up to $800 each year.

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“Locally and across the country, food bank use has been at an all-time high and food inflation is at record levels,” said Stephanie Segave-Tiessen, project manager at United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County.

However, Segave-Tiessen said it is important to avoid stigmatizing families living in poverty, adding that “this is not exclusively a program for hungry kids.”

She said food advocacy groups have pushed for a “universal program” that will provide nutritious meals to every student regardless of household income, similar to the American model which has existed since the 1940s.

“We see it as an opportunity to hopefully move beyond snacks and towards the delivery of a hot meal for kids,” said Segave-Tiessen.

“As a mom of three kids and as somebody who has worked in the food movement for many years, this is just so important, now more ever. You can see that it is so needed, and Canada had been far behind.”

A patchwork of school food programs already exist across the country which are funded by the provinces, non-profits, donors and parent councils. This means access to consistent school meals fluctuates based on a student’s area code.

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More than 90 programs in Windsor-Essex County are facilitated through the Ontario Student Nutrition Program. During the 2023-2024 school year, these programs provided meals to approximately 27,133 students.

However, according to Clayton Callow, principal of General Brock Public School in the city’s west end, the existing level of funding is not enough to keep up with the need.

Current funds break down to approximately 17 cents per child every day, he said. In many instances, teachers are supplementing the program with snacks that they keep stocked in their classrooms.

According the the Breakfast Club of Canada, Canada is the only member of the G7 group of nations that does not have a national school nutrition program.

The United States passed the National School Lunch Act in 1946.

Kusmierczyk met with representatives from the Michigan Department of Education last week at General Brock Public School to learn the best practices from the Michigan Meals Program.

He said the Canadian government will be urging the provinces and territories to “step up their game” when it comes to funding school nutrition programs. 

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Ontario currently provides $32 million in funding annually to support local school food programs.

Last fall, British Columbia announced that it will distribute $214 million to school districts over the next three years through the Feeding Futures program.

“We’re going to be leaning on Ontario to pull up their socks and do more and to boost their funding for school food,” he said.

This follows a string of announcements in anticipation of the federal budget for 2024, which is set to be tabled on April 16.

The national school food program funding will be delivered to provinces and territories through bilateral agreements, similar to Canada-wide $10-a-day child care.

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During a visit to Windsor last week, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani said Ontario, which was the last to sign onto the child care agreement, lags behinds eight other provinces that have already implemented $10-a-day child care.

Kusmierczyk said collaboration between all tiers of government is important to implement a national school food program.

Segave-Tiessen said the program also presents opportunities for innovative farm-to-school models that can bolster local farms and urban agriculture.

She pointed to areas in Toronto and Detroit that have successfully established neighbourhood models where individuals from diverse ages and backgrounds gather to cook and cultivate food together.

mmazak@postmedia.com

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