Wendy Wong, president and CEO of BFL, has heard it all before and would dearly love to offer all Canadian public schools the financial support they need to sustain their food programs. But on a budget of $5.4 million in 2008 – raised from a combination of corporate and individual donations – BFL can offer grants to about 3,000 programs serving 360,000 students. Last year, the foundation was only able to grant 27 per cent of the funds requested for breakfast, lunch and snack programs.
Building a dream
Were she able to wave a magic wand, McKenna would create a national school food program built on what has already been started in Canada, and the knowledge of what works in other countries. Such a program, she says, should be universal and free from kindergarten to Grade 12, as it is in countries such as Finland and Sweden. McKenna adds that programs should adhere to high nutritional standards, and should be the only outlet for food offered in the school, as occurs in Japan.
The eating experience should also be pleasant. Children need adequate time to eat in a calm atmosphere, not sit on gym or hallway floors, as currently happens in some schools. And the focus should be on serving wholesome food – "real food," as McKenna calls it – that is locally grown (when possible) and environmentally friendly.
Other items on her wish list include staff or volunteers trained in nutrition to prepare and serve the food, and having the importance of good nutrition reinforced in the classroom. In South Korea, for example, dietitians teach nutrition in elementary schools.
Take it to the government
For the past five years, BFL has taken every opportunity to make the case to the federal government for a national school nutrition strategy. BFL representatives have teamed up with other organizations, including the Canadian Home and School Federation and the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, to make submissions to various federal ministries. And while opposition parties have offered support for funding a national program, the current government has not.
McKenna, who prepared BFL's latest submission to the federal finance minister, says that one of the arguments against a national school food program is that education and health policies are set by the provinces, not the federal government. "My response to that is, government has to become more creative." As a first step, it could provide matching funds for programs funded by provinces, territories or nongovernmental organizations, she says. For instance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture operates that country's program. "A well-designed school meal program shows that we value our children," adds McKenna.
Stephen Samis, director of health policy at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, suggests that federal and provincial or territorial governments find a way to collaborate on the issue of a national school food program. "The evidence is clear that investing in our children and their healthy development is good for both their future and our country's future."
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