Why Canada needs a national school food program

‘Enriching the minds of students’
Many school food programs started out with the goal of enriching the minds of students from poor- or low-income families by filling their grumbling stomachs. This need still exists: more than 41 per cent of food bank users are children, according to a survey by the Canadian Association of Food Banks.

But the demand has expanded well beyond the boundaries of poverty. A report on child nutrition by BFL says that one-quarter of all Canadian children in Grade 4 do not eat breakfast every day. By the time our kids reach Grade 8, this number rises to almost half of all girls and a third of boys.

As any parent who’s ever rushed around trying to get herself ready for work, get the kids to eat their cereal and get lunches packed can tell you, children may go to school hungry for a variety of reasons – many have nothing to do with the family’s income or parental neglect.

Some kids have long bus rides to school and might eat at home but are hungry by the time they arrive; others attend early-morning school activities. Add to this that 80 per cent of families with children aged six to 12 have two working parents, and moms and dads work longer hours than ever before, and you can see why morning routines are harried and kids are left to get their own meals.

‘The changing needs of Canadian families’
Martha O’Connor, executive director of BFL, explains how the philosophy of feeding children in school has evolved to meet the changing needs of Canadian families. “Fifteen years ago we started out to address a problem around poverty and hunger, and we thought that when the issue was addressed there would be no more need. But what we have [created] is something that’s good and right for all Canadian families and builds caring communities.” She adds, “Feeding children is a parental responsibility, but families really need support. We have to broaden the definition of family to include the community.”

Lowing childhood obeisity
School food programs do much more than lend a hand to time-starved parents and those who can’t afford to give their kids breakfast or lunch. A study in Nova Scotia entitled “Children’s Lifestyle and School Performance Study” looked at children in three groups: those in schools with no nutrition programs; those with a general nutrition program; and students who had a fully-integrated nutrition program involving parents, teachers and the community. Researchers found that children in the third group had the lowest rates of childhood obesity.

Getting kids to eat healthily is no easy feat for parents these days. Moms and dads know their children size up their lunch with what other kids bring to school – and it isn’t ham sandwiches or carrot sticks kids are eyeing. Twenty-three per cent of all ads intended for youth promote fast foods, such as soda, chips and frozen pizza. Debbie Field, a Toronto mom who launched one of the city’s first healthy hot-lunch programs at her children’s school, Fern Avenue Junior and Senior Public School, and went on to become the executive director of FoodShare Toronto, says this is another reason why school food programs are so important today. “They help parents manage these negative influences by giving students healthy options and having them eat the same things,” she says. “These are lessons that they take home with them.”

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