The Alberta government and the federal Ministry of Families, Children and Social Development have ratified an agreement to invest $42 million in federal funding over the next three years into school lunches.
The program, which was announced last September, will provide students in need with school lunches every day. The federal funding will supplement the province’s School Nutrition Program, which will allocate $20 million for participating school lunch programs in the 2024-2025 school year.
It comes after Calgary Foundation’s Quality of Life Report 2024 suggested that a quarter of Calgarians cannot afford healthy food. Thirty-nine per cent of survey respondents said they skip meals so their children can eat. Around 63 per cent of families with young children in Calgary have served meals that aren’t nutritious, and 26 per cent said they have used community-based food services for their kids.
LiveWire Calgary previously reported that more than 7,500 kindergarten to Grade 12 students across more than 280 schools in the city rely on Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids’ school lunch program.
In an emailed statement, Alberta’s Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said students need proper nutrition to excel in school.
“No one learns well on an empty stomach – that’s why we are partnering with the federal government to feed more kids in more schools, and fund new and innovative nutrition programs,” the statement read.
Federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds said the agreement aims to help children reach their full potential at school.
“It’s simple: we want our kids to succeed, and the National School Food Program is going to help them get there. It makes sure that kids can reach their full potential on a full stomach, no matter where they live. It also helps parents save hundreds of dollars on groceries. This is a big win for families in Alberta,” Sudds said in an emailed statement.
The Calgary Board of Education said it is grateful for the additional funding into nutrition programs for students but added it is unaware of how much additional funding may be provided to schools in the district.
A media spokesperson for the CBE said the district works with eight different community partners to provide nutrition support to students.
“Nutrition programs aim to ensure that students have access to healthy food during the school day. They may include breakfast programs, and/or lunch programs, depending on the specific needs of the students and the resources available. These programs help to alleviate the burden on families and ensure that students have the energy and focus they need to succeed academically,” said Joanne Anderson of the CBE.
The Calgary Catholic School District is pleased about the additional funding and said its administration will work with the provincial government to provide food support to students.
“The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) is grateful to the federal government for funding for nutrition programs for children and youth. We are pleased to hear that Alberta is joining the National School Food Program and look forward to working with the province to provide more CCSD students with access to food supports to enhance their well-being and success,” a spokesperson for the CCSD told LWC in an emailed statement.
