Ottawa's $1-billion National School Food Program is facing questions over its promise to feed 400,000 additional children as rising grocery prices erode the value of federal funding and new documents reveal gaps in the government's supporting data.Judith Barry, co-founder of Breakfast Club of Canada, told the House of Commons human resources committee that the program's funding has failed to keep pace with food inflation since the Liberals first announced the commitment in 2021."The $1 billion, five-year commitment was first made in September 2021 and delivered in Budget 2024 with the creation of the National School Food Program," Barry testified."But between the pledge and the first funded schools, grocery prices rose by about 21% and the increases have continued."Barry said grocery prices have climbed approximately 28% since September 2021, significantly reducing the purchasing power of the government's original commitment."The $1 billion pledge in 2021 now buys about $783 million worth of food, only 78 cents on the dollar," she said."The commitment is unchanged but its purchasing power has fallen."Blacklock's Reporter said the federal government committed $200 million annually over five years to expand school meal programs across Canada.However, Barry told MPs that funding amounts to just 22 cents per student per school day when spread across the student population."Two hundred million dollars per year from the federal government represents the equivalent of 22 cents per student per day," she said.No MPs challenged her calculations during the committee hearing..The National School Food Program was launched in 2024 under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, who promoted it as a major expansion of access to meals for children attending school."This is a game changer," Trudeau said when announcing the initiative."It will help 400,000 more Canadian children have something to eat."However, the government has not publicly substantiated the 400,000-child figure with comprehensive program data.An April 28 briefing memo from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research acknowledged that additional research is required to assess the impact of school meal programs across the country."More data are needed to better understand the impact of school food programs in a Canadian context," stated the memo, titled National School Food Program.The agency said school meal programs can improve children's health and educational outcomes, but further Canadian research is necessary to measure their effectiveness.The memo also outlined plans to spend more than $12 million over three years beginning in 2027 to study school food programs.The research will examine health outcomes, socioeconomic factors, equitable access and effects on indigenous communities.Barry has previously warned parliamentarians that feeding 400,000 additional children every school day would require substantially more funding than Ottawa has committed.During testimony before the Senate national finance committee in 2024, she estimated the cost of providing school meals at between $3 and $6 per child per day."We would need at least $3 to $6 per child per day," Barry said."There are 180 school days. We would need billions."At those rates, feeding 400,000 children over a 180-day school year would cost approximately $216 million to $432 million annually, compared with the federal government's $200-million yearly commitment.Barry also cited a 2023 University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine study that examined the actual operating costs of school food programs..The study, titled Cost Analysis Of Promising School Food Programs, found school lunches cost an average of $6.45 per student before the latest increases in grocery prices."Overall lunch programs cost an average of $6.45 per person," the researchers reported.At that rate, providing lunches to 400,000 children for 180 school days would cost approximately $464.4 million annually.The figures highlight the difference between Ottawa's funding commitment and the estimated cost of delivering daily meals to the number of children identified in the government's original promise.While the federal program is intended to supplement existing provincial, territorial and community school food initiatives, the testimony raises questions about whether the promised expansion can be achieved without additional funding.The government has continued to promote the 400,000-child target, but the documents cited do not establish how many additional children are receiving meals as a direct result of the federal program.
