The federal government will provide $7.1 million over the next three years to help expand Prince Edward Island’s school lunch program, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday morning on CBC. island morning.
Trudeau told host Mitch Cormier that the money will go directly into programs to make the province’s programs “truly universal.”
“This is about taking pressure off families and letting them know that no matter how rushed they are in the morning, quality, nutritious food will be there every day for their children, if they need it.”
The money comes from the federal government’s five-year, $1 billion National School Lunch Program.
The federal government said in a news release that the funding “will help provide healthy lunches to more than 1,500 additional children and healthy breakfasts and snacks to more than 800 children this school year. This agreement will save a family of two in Prince Edward Island an average of $800 a year on groceries.”
Overall, the Trudeau government expects the funding will provide approximately 480,000 additional meals to children on P.E.I. this fiscal year, according to the announcement.
The PEI government pays about $6 million a year to nonprofit organizations that run school lunch programs on the island. Additional income comes from fees paid by families.
PEI School Lunch Program officials said demand is up 14% this year, although the number of families participating in the “pay what you can” service is down.
- 68% have zero payments.
- 19% are making partial payments.
- 13% pay the full $5.75 per meal.
The school lunch program will provide nearly 850,000 meals in the 2023-24 school year, an increase of 40% from the previous year.
The PEI government said it had no intention of eliminating the fees that the opposition had been demanding.
The PEI government wants to know how it can better provide island students with school meals on a “pay-as-you-can basis.” The company hired a consultant to review its $6 million school lunch program. CBC’s Wayne Thibodeau explains.
“This is a reflection of what’s going on in society. People are hungry, people can’t afford food at this time of year, and that’s just reflected in the school feeding program,” Liberal MLA Gord McNeely said. he told CBC News earlier this week.
“This government underspent by $70 million in the last budget…so we have the money to do it. Just make the program free. It’s that simple.”
Program supports P.E.I. families and economies
During the funding announcement at Mount Stewart Unified School on Friday, PEI Premier Dennis King said the funding will help Island families and the province’s economy.
“This infusion of federal funding will allow us to establish new food hubs across the state, making meals more accessible and affordable for Island families,” King said. .
“Sourcing local food…not only provides fresh, healthy meals, but also supports Island farmers, boosts economic activity and creates jobs in our communities, many of which Probably not open due to the seasonality of tourism.”
Last June, the Department for Education announced it would embark on an overhaul of the school meal program, including its funding model.
Last year, the pay-as-you-can system recovered about 20 percent of program costs.
