National School Food Program Targets Affordable Meals Under $3

The federal government’s initiative to provide 400,000 schoolchildren with daily meals through a school food program was built upon the assumption that each meal would cost less than $3 per child.

However, it has been revealed that in order to fulfill the government’s promises, each meal would need to cost $2.78, which falls below the minimum cost threshold established by the Breakfast Club of Canada, as initially reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Testifying before the Senate national finance committee, Judith Barry, co-founder of the Breakfast Club, stated, “We would require at least $3 to $6 per child per day.” She emphasized, “There are 180 school days. We would need billions.”

A 2023 report from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine found no existing programs that could provide meals to children for $2.78 per day, citing an average cost of $6.45 per person for lunch programs.

The National School Food Program, announced on April 1, comes with a commitment of $200 million in annual funding, totaling $1 billion over five years. The program aims to provide meals to 400,000 children each year.

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Matthew Hoorwood contributed to this article.