By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Amid calls from nonprofit organizations to give students in elementary and secondary schools more regular access to healthy food, the federal Liberal government has announced plans to implement a national school lunch program. “With an investment of $1 billion over five years, the Program, included in Budget 2024, will launch with a target of providing meals to 400,000 more kids every year, beyond those served by existing school food programs. For moms and dads, it will mean the peace of mind that your kids are taken care of and do not go hungry. For kids, it will mean healthy meals – helping them learn, grow, and reach their full potential,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said in a statement, after the rollout of the program was announced in April. Québec Solidaire (QS) has also made implementing a school lunch program one of its stated policy priorities for the fall term.
Currently, students in Quebec’s public schools get breakfast and lunch through a patchwork of programs, which vary from region to region and even within school boards. “There’s not a single morning meal served in a school in the province that is funded by the government,” said Claudine Dessureault, principal purchasing and inventory advisor at the Breakfast Club of Canada, which provides free breakfast to students at about 500 schools in Quebec that have been designated as underprivileged by the provincial government.
Dessureault said she wanted to “bring the necessary attention” to the proposed federal school meal program, as organizations like hers struggle to provide meals to ever-growing numbers of students. “Since the pandemic, with inflation…the cost of food and transport has gone up. We have to feed more kids and the food costs more.” She said the Breakfast Club has about 100 Quebec schools on its waiting list, and principals of schools that already partner with the Breakfast Club are “calling and asking if we can feed another class.”
Interim ETSB communications advisor Geneviève Ouellette provided the BCN with a written overview of existing school breakfast and lunch programs at the ETSB. “Most schools have a breakfast program with the support of different partnerships. If they do not have a breakfast program, the schools have healthy snacks in their fridges at no cost to students,” the overview said. “Each school provides for their local needs. Some breakfasts are run by volunteers and donations are made to the school.” Several schools also partner with the Breakfast Club, the Fondation Christian Vachon, Cantine pour tous, the Tillotson Fund or local church groups to provide a light, balanced breakfast.
“Hot lunch is generally served in most of the schools either through the school itself or an external caterer. The number of days of operation varies where parents can sign up for the month or pick their days. The cost varies between schools and is paid for by the parents. Students can also bring their own lunch if they wish. Finally, there are free lunches that are available if a student forgets his lunch and there are different lunch programs available for students whose family has financial difficulties,” the document explains. “Students can bring their own lunch [or pay for it]. If the student forgets their lunch, the school will provide one for them free of charge. Free meals are sometimes made available through different programs. If a student does bring their own lunch, but is still hungry due to insufficient food, the schools provide soup and snacks.” The ETSB did not comment on the necessity or feasibility of an eventual national school lunch program.
Any uniform school meal program would be under the purview of the Ministry of Education. Ministry spokesperson Bryan St-Louis said Quebec’s participation in the federal program would require “an agreement [that] must be fully respectful of Quebec’s jurisdiction.”
“In order to ensure the deployment of school food programs in full coherence with existing initiatives and thus avoid unnecessary and costly duplication and overlap, Quebec expects to receive its fair share of any federal funding for this purpose,” St-Louis said.
QS co-leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said at a press conference that his party intends to table a motion to demand that the Legault government reaches an agreement with its federal counterpart sooner rather than later. “With federal election rumours gathering pace, we need to reach an agreement as soon as possible. We need this money to quickly improve school food programs in Quebec,” Nadeau-Dubois said.