WESTVILLE, NS, June 20,
2024 /CNW/ - Every child deserves the best start in
life. But today, too many children in Canada don't get the food they need. Study
after study has shown that kids learn better on a full stomach.
That's why school food programs are so important – they support
families and help kids get the nutrition they need to learn and
grow.
With Budget 2024, we're making sure every generation gets a
fair, healthy future – starting right from childhood.
Today, the Prime Minister, Justin
Trudeau, unveiled the federal government's National School
Food Policy, which outlines our plan to create and deliver
the National School Food Program across Canada.
With an investment of $1 billion over five years, the
National School Food Program, included in Budget 2024, will
provide meals to up to 400,000 more kids every year, beyond those
served by existing school food programs. This will mean peace of
mind for parents and healthy meals for kids – helping them learn,
grow, and get the best start in life. On average, the National
School Food Program is expected to save participating families with
two kids up to $800 a year in grocery
bills.
The new Policy sets out a vision, principles, and objectives for
school food programming across Canada, and will guide the creation of the
National School Food Program in collaboration with provinces,
territories, and Indigenous partners, with a focus on
accessibility, flexibility, inclusivity, sustainability, and better
health.
The National School Food Program is part of our work to support
families and make life cost less. This includes the Canada Child
Benefit, which is providing families with up to $7,437 per child this benefit year, Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care,
which has already reduced fees for regulated child care by half on
average across the country, and the Canadian Dental Care Plan,
which will make trips to the dentist more affordable for up to
9 million uninsured Canadians. Confident countries invest in
themselves, and these investments grow and build our communities,
our families, and our economy.
These are just some of the things that we're doing in
Budget 2024 to build a better and fairer future for every
generation. We're also building more homes, improving health care,
and investing in innovation – so that every Canadian has a fair
chance to succeed.
Quotes
"Fairness for every generation starts right from childhood.
Supported by this new policy, our National School Food Program is a
direct investment in the future of our kids. This will support
families, parents, and kids by providing school meals, so our
youngest can reach their full potential – feeling healthy and
happy."
— The Rt. Hon. Justin
Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
"Today, the rising price of groceries is making it tough for
families, especially Millennial and Gen Z parents, to afford the
food their kids need. Our new $1 billion National School Food
Program will help 400,000 more kids get the food they need to
thrive ‒ so that every single child across Canada can have a fair chance at a good,
healthy life."
— The Hon. Chrystia
Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
"Fairness for every generation means we support each other at
every stage of life – and that starts from childhood. The National
School Food Policy is a roadmap to supporting parents with the
higher cost of groceries and getting more healthy food on the
plates of growing kids so they can focus on learning and reach
their full potential."
— The Hon. Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and
Social Development
"No child should be left with an empty stomach and no parent
should have to worry about whether their child will be hungry at
school. That's why we launched the National School Food Program, to
ensure that children in every community are healthy and happy in
school."
— The Hon. Sean Fraser,
Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
Quick Facts
- The $1 billion National School
Food Program includes investments that will support school food
programming for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities as
well as Self-Governing and Modern Treaty partners, many of whom
have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada. Investments will also support capacity
building and engagement with Indigenous partners to develop
culturally appropriate solutions. These partnerships will aim to
tackle food insecurity by advancing Indigenous-led solutions and
will further our work on reconciliation.
- School food programs provide children and youth with meals and
snacks at school, often at no-to-low cost for participating
families. Providing food to children and youth provides many
benefits, including reducing hunger, improving nutrition and health
outcomes, supporting local economies, and reducing food-related
spending for families.
- According to Statistics Canada estimates, in 2022, 22.3 per
cent of families and more than 2.1 million children under the
age of 18 in Canada reported
experiencing some level of food insecurity over the past 12
months.
- To give every child the best start in life, Budget 2024 is
also:
- Increasing training for early childhood educators. We're
investing $10 million over two years to train more early
childhood educators, building up the talent needed for the
expansion of affordable, high-quality child care.
- Improving child care access for military families. Military
service often demands frequent moves and deployments, making
quality child care more than just a convenience. Budget 2024
invests $100 million over five years to provide Canadian Armed
Forces personnel and their families with better access to child
care on bases across Canada.
- Launching a new Youth Mental Health Fund to ensure that younger
generations have the access they need to mental health supports, so
they can have a healthy start to adulthood. Budget 2024
proposes an investment of $500 million over five years to
ensure youth have access to mental health supports in their
community.
- Ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for First
Nations children, youth, and communities with a proposed new
investment of $1.2 billion in
First Nations' kindergarten to grade 12 education and $242.7 million to increase access to
post-secondary education for First Nations students.
- Keeping our children safe by protecting them from online harm.
Budget 2024 proposes an investment of $7.5 million over three years, starting in
2024-25, to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support Kids Help Phone in their
work providing mental health, counselling, and crisis support to
young people.
Associated Links
- National School Food Policy
- National School Food Program
- Giving every child the best start in life
- Fairness for Every Generation
- Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation
This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office