Question Period Note: NATIONAL SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAM

Update on the National School Food Program

Our government is committed to ensuring that children get the healthy food they need to learn and succeed.

Through the National School Food Program, which is providing $1 billion over five years, we have signed agreements with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to enhance and expand school food programs across Canada, guided by the National School Food Policy.

This school year, the National School Food Program will be supporting school food programs in all provinces and territories. We will continue to work with all our partners in the coming years to ensure that even more children can access school food across the country.

School food programs can provide numerous benefits, with research from peer countries suggesting that every dollar invested in school food yields an estimated $2 to $6 in social returns.

If pressed [GENERAL]:

This year, National School Food Program funding for provinces and territories will double to $140 million annually (relative to $70 million in 2024-25).

For school food programs, this increased investment means more resources to serve healthier meals, ensure adequate staffing, and purchase essential infrastructure. For children and families, this means less learning on an empty stomach and lower grocery bills. On average, these investments can help families across Canada with two children in school save an estimated $800 in grocery bills a year.

Our government continues to work with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners to ensure that even more children across the country have access to the healthy meals they need.

If pressed [REACH, INCLUDING QUEBEC]:

Canadians across the country recognize the importance of school food programs. We are proud to support all provinces and territories, including Quebec, through this historic investment.

The National School Food Program is already delivering real support to families and children across the country, providing up to 400,000 additional children each year with access to nutritious food at school.

Through the Program, we are supporting Quebec in enhancing the programming it provides to students across the province.

With Quebec’s existing investment, over 700,000 students in 2,232 Quebec schools benefit from school food programming.

If pressed [NSFP IMPLEMENTATION, INCLUDING IN NEW BRUNSWICK]

Provinces and territories play a critical role in school food programming as it falls under their jurisdiction, and all currently provide funding for school meals.

Federal funding through the National School Food Program builds on these existing efforts and provides the flexibility for each jurisdiction, including New Brunswick, to determine their own priorities and respond to their needs. Eligible expenses under the National School Food Program include food purchases; staffing; infrastructure, storage, preparation equipment, and food transportation.

Our government is committed to continue working with our provincial and territorial partners to enhance and expand school food programs across the country.

If pressed [NSFP PROJECTED/ ACTUAL EFFECTS]

Research from peer countries suggests that every dollar invested in school food yields an estimated $2 to $6 in social returns.

School food programs can provide numerous benefits, including:

reducing hunger, food insecurity, and health inequities, acting as social equalizers;   

supporting improved student attendance, academic outcomes, and achievement;   

reducing food costs and preparation time for families; and,   

supporting local farmers, economies, and sustainable food systems and practices. 

Recognizing the importance of evidence-based school food programs, the federal government works on filling key gaps in data and research to build evidence-based programming that supports children and youth, in alignment with the National School Food Policy.

Budget 2024 announced the creation of a National School Food Program, which will provide $1 billion over five years to Employment and Social Development Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Indigenous Services Canada, starting in 2024-25, to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to expand access to school food programs. This includes investments for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners, many of whom have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada.

As of March 2025, the Government of Canada has concluded National School Food Program agreements with all provinces and territories. These bilateral agreements, covering 2024-25 to 2026-27, will allow the federal government to flow funding to support provinces and territories in expanding and enhancing school food programs, increasing access for more children and improving the quality of programs offered.

Aligning with past bilateral agreements, an asymmetrical approach was taken with Quebec to allow for greater flexibility (e.g., reduced reporting, unconditional payments, etc.).

Provinces and territories play a critical role in school food programming as it falls under their jurisdiction and all currently provide funding for school meals. In 2024-25, the total annual investment in school food by provinces and territories was estimated at $273 million. Some provinces have also announced increased investments in school food through their 2025 budgets.

Federal funding through the National School Food Program builds on these existing efforts by working collaboratively with provincial and territorial governments and by providing the flexibility for provinces and territories to invest according to their regional priorities and needs. Eligible expenses under the National School Food Program include food purchases; staffing; infrastructure, storage, preparation equipment, and food transportation. Each jurisdiction is best placed to determine their own programming needs.

The federal government continues to work with provinces and territories to flow funding through bilateral agreements and deliver the National School Food Program.

Budget 2024 also provided $62.9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to renew and expand the Local Food Infrastructure Fund to support community organizations across Canada to invest in local food infrastructure, with priority given to Indigenous and Black communities, along with other equity-deserving groups. Part of the expansion will support community organizations to improve infrastructure for school food programs as a complement to the National School Food Program.

Canada had approximately 6.6 million school-aged children (ages 4-18) in 2024 according to Statistics Canada population estimates.

According to the 2023 Canadian Income Survey:

802,000 children (persons under 18) were living below the poverty line.

The poverty rate for children and youth (persons under 18) increased by 4.3 percentage points to 10.7% in 2023, up from 6.4% in 2021.

Food insecurity among children and youth in Canada’s provinces increased to 32.9% in 2023, up from 28.4% in 2022, with 24.7% of children experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity.

Families with children were more likely to experience food insecurity. Specifically, 52.1% of people living in female lone-parent families and 28.6% of people living in couple families with children experienced food insecurity, representing an increase of 6.1 and 3.9 percentage points from 2022, respectively.  

For the provinces, rates of food insecurity among children and youth are lowest in Quebec (27.5%) and highest in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick, at 39.9%. While data on children experiencing food insecurity in the territories are not available, rates of food insecurity, in general, in the territories are high, with 37.4% of people living in a household that experienced food insecurity. Food insecurity rates varied by territory, with Nunavut (58.1%) having the highest rate, followed by the Northwest Territories (34.2%) and then Yukon (21.8%).

School food programs can provide numerous benefits, with research from peer countries suggesting that every dollar invested in school food yields an estimated $2 to $6 in social returns.

Studies show that children and youth who participate in robust school food programs go on to earn 3-5% more than those who did not.

School food programs can also have long-lasting impacts on children’s educational attainment, nutrition, and overall well-being.

Prior to federal investment, school food programs funded by provincial and territorial governments had reached at least one in four school-aged children during the 2023-24 school year.

Provinces and territories continue to make investments in school food programming, with total funding estimated at $273 million in 2024-25. However, persistent affordability pressures have meant that the demand for school food programming continues to grow.

Federal funding through the National School Food Program ($1 billion over five years, starting 2024-25) aims to support provinces, territories and Indigenous partners to expand and enhance school food programs, to reach even more children across the country.

Each province and territory is responsible for maintaining commitments made through their National School Food Program bilateral agreement with the Government of Canada, including to report annually on implementation progress, results and expenditures. Given that the Program is in early implementation, with 2024-25 being the first year, final reporting from provinces and territories is not yet complete. 

On October 10, 2025, Prime Minister Carney announced that the program will be made permanent to ensure kids get nutritious meals at school, while bringing down costs for parents.