Toronto, ON —The federal government’s latest budget aims to make Canada’s National School Food Program a permanent initiative, pledging annual funding beginning in 2029. While advocates hail the move as a “solid foundation,” experts caution that the program, as currently funded, will not guarantee free daily meals for every child in Canada.
Under the budget proposal, the government has committed $216.6 million annually to the program starting in 2029, extending beyond the $1 billion already pledged over the first five years. The initiative seeks to strengthen existing school meal programs across the country, where access currently varies from full meals to basic snacks — and in some schools, none at all.
At Albion Neighbourhood Services in northwest Toronto, Executive Director Khudaija Sheikh runs a breakfast club serving about 80 students daily. She says limited funding remains a key barrier to expanding programs to meet growing demand. “When a child goes hungry to school, they’re not ready to take on all that’s going to be taught to them,” Sheikh said, adding that local partnerships with grocers, food banks, and donors remain vital to sustain operations.
Amberley Ruetz, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan, called the federal pledge “a really solid foundation,” but emphasized that a truly universal program will require significant investment from all levels of government. “A robust hot lunch program, like the one in the United States, would cost roughly $6.50 per student per school day,” she said — a figure that could amount to billions annually given Canada’s 5.6 million students.
Newfoundland and Labrador, the first province to sign a three-year federal funding agreement, has already expanded its reach through the School Lunch Association, which operates on a “pay-what-you-can” model. Executive Director John Finn says the new funding has allowed the program to reach nearly half of all students in the province this school year. However, he cautioned that sustainability will depend on continued cooperation between governments, charities, and families. “Federal investment doesn’t mean a free lunch,” Finn said. “It’s a shared responsibility.”
Meanwhile, organizations like The Sharing Place Food Centre in Orillia, Ontario, see firsthand how food insecurity continues to grow. Executive Director Chris Peacock says one in three children in his region faces hunger, with schools increasingly relying on discounted food purchases and community subsidies. “We welcome federal support,” he said, “but provinces and territories need to step up and take ownership so that every student, in every community, has access to healthy food.”
While the permanent National School Food Program marks an important policy shift, advocates agree that closing the gaps across Canada’s patchwork of school meal programs will require not just federal funding, but a coordinated effort among all levels of government, community organizations, and local food providers.