REGINA - The Sask. government has signed onto the National School Food Program.
On Monday, it was announced that Sask. will receive $15.8 million over the next three years from the federal government as part of their $1 billion investment laid out in 2024 to provide 400,000 meals to students across the country yearly.
"We're pleased that the province has signed on to the program. This is something that our organization has long advocated [for]," said Shawn Davidson, president of the Saskatchewan School Board Association (SSBA).
There had been concerns regarding Sask. not signing onto the program, as other provinces like Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador struck a deal with the feds shortly after the program was announced last year.
Last week, the NDP called on the provincial government to sign onto the National School Food Program.
At the time, Matt Love, NDP education critic, said, "this agreement should have been signed months ago."
Premier Scott Moe said the province was weighing all of its options regarding the program.
From what Davidson understands, "the [provincial government] wanted to make sure that as many dollars [as possible] was put towards food in schools and [provided] to students for nutrition. They didn't want things to be bogged down with a lot of bureaucratic red tape."
Food insecurity
There is a growing need for students requiring meals in schools. Research done by the SSBA showed in 2023, there was a 28 per cent food insecurity rate among students in the province, which was up from 20.3 per cent the previous year.
Factors for this included inflation, wages not keeping up with rising costs and children living in poverty, as Davidson noted.
Additionally, the province had the lowest per student funding for school food programs in Canada.
According to the SSBA, between 2023-24, school food programs currently in place cost over $6 million, with more money going towards purchasing food. With this announcement, Davidson believes it can enhance the school food programs already in place across Sask.
In Regina, the food bank provides 2,000 meals per week across eight schools and two community school programs, with hopes they can eventually expand it.
"[So,] we're quite confident that because of our strong local voice in education [and] our [already] strong local partnerships that we'll actually be able to have a larger impact into Saskatchewan [for the national program] maybe than some other places."
In the media release, Education Minister Everett Hindley said, "this funding will make a difference and allow us to continue to support the well being of children and families who need it most across our growing province."
As part of their Child Nutrition Program, the Sask. government also invested $2.7 million in 2024-25 towards addressing child hunger in educational institutions.
