The federal government’s plan to feed 400,000 schoolchildren a day with a school food program was based on the cost of meals being under $3 per child.
Promises made by the government will only be met if each meal costs $2.78, which is below the minimum cost identified by the Breakfast Club of Canada, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
“We would need at least $3 to $6 per child per day,” Judith Barry, co-founder of the Breakfast Club, testified before the Senate national finance committee.
“There are 180 school days. We would need billions,” she said.
A 2023 report from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine did not find any programs that could feed kids for $2.78 a day, saying the average cost for lunch programs is $6.45 per person.
The National School Food Program was announced on April 1 with a commitment of $200 million in funding each year, for a total of $1 billion over five years. The program is meant to feed 400,000 children each year.
Matthew Hoorwood contributed to this article.
