EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story overstated the number of Ontario children who will be covered by the National School Food Program, and has been updated with the correct figures.
The federal government is investing $108.5 million over three years to increase free school meals to more Ontario children under the National School Food Program.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that Ontario has become the third province to sign on to the program, following Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ottawa says the funds for school food programs across the province will help reduce costs for food transportation, storage and preparation equipment, allowing the delivery of healthy meals to 160,000 more kids in Ontario this school year.
Trudeau said the “huge” agreement with Ontario will “set the bar for the rest of the country” during the announcement in Brampton, Ont.
“When kids don’t have full bellies, when they can’t hear the teacher because of the grumbling in their tummy, when they are worried and low-energy and not able to focus in class because they’re hungry, we all suffer,” he said.
Two senior government officials told Global News ahead of Friday’s announcement that the investment means “close to a million Ontario kids” will have access to school food before summer break, representing almost 75 per cent of the province’s schools.
A spokesperson for Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds’ office told Global News late Friday that more than 600,000 kids receive meals per year through Ontario’s existing Student Nutrition Program and First Nations Student Nutrition Program.
The figures provided by Ottawa means the federal funding will increase that number to over 760,000 kids annually.
In a news release, Ottawa said the new deal will result in 9.8 million more meals served to Ontario kids, including 130,000 more school meals served to kids in Indigenous communities across Ontario.
“This program makes a real difference – not just for kids, but for families – by ensuring healthy meals are within reach and by easing the burden of grocery bills for parents,” Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement.
The government announced the program in April. With $1 billion earmarked for the program over five years, Ottawa said it will provide meals to 400,000 more kids across Canada every year, beyond those served by existing school food programs.
Trudeau himself has touted the program as a “game changer.”
“The program will take pressure off of families, invest directly in the future of our kids, and make sure they’re able to reach their full potential – feeling healthy and happy,” he said in an April statement.
“This is about fairness and doing what’s right for our kids to get the best start in life.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford the welcomed news on Friday.
“I’ve been a big fan of it from day one,” he told reporters on Friday.
“We’re going to work hand in hand with the federal government to make sure the kids don’t go to school hungry.”
The Conservative Party blasted Friday’s announcement, noting it will only cover 7.7 per cent of the more than two million kids in Ontario schools.
“Trudeau’s photo op promise will not feed kids, it will feed bureaucracies,” Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri, the party’s shadow minister for children and families, said in a statement.
—With files from Global’s Bryan Mullan