National school lunch program will feed an additional 50,000 Alberta students per year: feds

A national school food program touted Monday by the federal government that will be included in its spring budget on April 16 is expected to feed an additional 50,000 children in Alberta, says an Edmonton-area MP and cabinet minister.

Randy Boissonault, the Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre and minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, said during an announcement of the program on Monday -- parroting the news first delivered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Families Minister Jenna Sudds earlier in the day -- said the $1 billion over five years Ottawa will put into the program will double the funding for it across the country.

"That could mean as many as 50,000 kids here in Alberta having access … than we have already," Boissonault said during a media availability at Edmonton's Food Bank.

"With our commitment today, it's going to double that amount, so you're going to see twice as many kids, vulnerable kids in our province have access to nutritious meals."

Trudeau said in Toronto the national program will aim to provide meals to 400,000 more children per year across Canada.

"We know that some Canadian families are struggling," Boissonault said.

"I am convinced, when I look at the data, that we are in the final stages of getting out of the pandemic. We're seeing inflation come down now consistently to I believe below three per cent. I'm confident that we're going to see prices stabilize, and we need to make sure that we send a clear signal to parents and to kids that we stand with them."

While education doesn't fall under federal jurisdiction, a national program would allow Ottawa to partner up with provinces and territories, many of which are already doing the work alongside community groups.

Amanda Boadi of the Breakfast Club of Canada, which has lobbied the government for the creation of the program since 2017, said the organization is "excited to collaborate" with governments, school organizations, Indigenous interests and other stakeholders on the program.

"For almost 30 years, the Breakfast Club of Canada has been working across every province and territory, and we are currently reaching 420,000 students across the country, but there is still much work to be done," Boadi said on Monday at the Food Bank availability.

"For too long, Canada has been marked as the only G7 country without a national school feeding program. Today marks a turning point for us."

The Liberal government has long promised to launch such a program, and Trudeau campaigned on that pledge during the 2021 election.

New Democrats have been pushing the Liberal government to fulfil that promise ahead of the federal budget, which Freeland is set to present on April 16.

In the past year, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have allocated money toward school lunches, but on-the-ground organizations have argued for a federal partner.

“We're going to get this done by working together with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners, and expanding access to school food programs across the country,” Freeland said in Toronto.

“And we want to get started as early as the 2024-25 school year.”

With files from The Canadian Press