Canada’s National School Food Program in BC

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt Tuesday, March 11th, 2025 — 8:52am PDT

0share

As of March 10th, all provinces and territories have now signed on to Canada’s National School Food Program to ensure more children have access to nutritious school meals. In BC, the $39.4 million in federal funding (over 3 years) will enhance school food programs at more than 1,000 schools across the province

Canada’s National School Food Program in BC

On March 7th, Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable Lisa Beare, British Columbia’s Minister of Education and Child Care, announced an agreement that will enable British Columbia to enhance school food programs for 90,000 kids in just over 1,000 schools across the province this school year.

“Kids need to fuel their minds and bodies during the school day to support their learning and growing, and this program is another opportunity for BC producers to expand their sales. By enhancing BC’s school food programs through the National School Food Program, more children across the province will have access to healthy, nutritious food at lunch to help them succeed, in and out of the classroom.” – The Honourable Lana Popham, British Columbia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food

Canada’s National School Food Program is a direct investment into the middle class—helping teachers and making mornings a little easier for working families. It is also a safety net for the kids who need this support the most. As part of this agreement, the Government of Canada will invest approximately $39.4 million over the next three years to enhance school food programs in the province to feed more kids, including in rural and remote areas. This investment will mean important improvements to school food programs such as increasing the number students served, purchasing much-needed school kitchen equipment, and increasing the nutrition of school meals which will provide more inclusive menu options that take into account dietary restrictions and cultural preferences.

Now more than ever, families are choosing to eat local, and this is reflected in BC’s school food programming, which aims to build strong community partnerships with local growers and food producers to see more BC food in schools, ultimately investing back in local economic growth, where possible.

Building a national school food program is part of the federal government’s commitment to help make life more affordable for families across the country.