Healthy Meals for Kids, Savings for Ontario Families

“Kids who aren’t hungry learn better, play harder, and feel stronger – it’s why we’re working with Ontario to make sure families will benefit from the National School Food Program. Today’s agreement demonstrates a shared goal toward ensuring that more children in the province have access to the healthy meals they need to succeed. And for parents, it gives them peace of mind, knowing that their kids are getting the fuel they need to focus on just being kids.”

The Hon. Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

School food programs make life easier. They provide healthy meals to kids throughout the school year. They also save working families hundreds of dollars in grocery bills.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced an agreement with the Government of Ontario to increase school food programs in the province. This agreement, under the federal government’s National School Food Program, will deliver healthy meals to 160,000 more kids in Ontario this school year. With this agreement, a two-child family in the province will save $800 in grocery bills a year.

This initial federal investment of $108.5 million over three years will help families and keep more money in their pockets. Along with increasing funding to school food programs in the province, this investment will also contribute to reduced costs for food transportation, storage, and preparation equipment. All in all, this will result in over 9.8 million more meals served to our kids. This includes 130,000 more school meals served to kids in Indigenous communities across Ontario this year.

Our 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. We’re going to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to ensure every child in Canada has the food they need while at school.

The National School Food Program is part of the federal government’s work to put more money in your pocket. Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced a tax break for all Canadians and the Working Canadians Rebate, giving millions of Canadians cheques in their mailbox and relief at the cash register. We’re creating more jobs, building more homes, expanding affordable dental care, and giving every Canadian a tax break – so they can buy the things they need and save for the things they want.