FÉDÉRATION NATIONALE DES CONSEILS SCOLAIRES FRANCOPHONES
National school nutrition program - A promising initiative

The Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones (FNCSF) and the Regroupement national des directions générales de l'éducation (RNDGE) applaud the federal government's initiative to move forward with funding for a national school nutrition program. This program aims to provide meals to an additional 400,000 children a year across the country.

The FNCSF and RNDGE believe that this initiative meets a crying need, since Canada is the only G7 country without a food policy.

Furthermore, half of Canada's elementary schools have no cafeterias.

Finally, half of Canadian children don't eat the fruits and vegetables recommended by Canada's Food Guide and rely instead on snacks and processed foods high in refined sugars.

The FNCSF and RNDGE are grateful to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, for holding virtual consultations with French school boards in November 2022 to see how such a program could be deployed to ensure its success.

Several ideas were put forward by our members:

• Promoting an inclusive, equitable and accessible model: all students, whether from modest or more affluent families, should have access to the program, regardless of their economic status or place of residence. Meal breaks and snacks should not create a divide between students, but rather encourage exchanges and closer ties between them.

• Entrust program administration to school boards: the latter are in the best position to see through the associated costs in terms of human resources (preparation, cleaning, etc.), storage (fridges, storage space) and the purchase of plates, utensils, napkins, etc. Hunger is also a reality during spring break and the winter and summer holidays. Some French-language school boards, in collaboration with local organizations, offer food store gift cards during these breaks.

• Use Canada's Food Guide as a teaching tool while respecting student diversity: the program should encourage local purchases and support sustainable development, among other things, while teaching students to make wise food choices.

Inspiring best practices already exist in French-language school boards. 

For example, the District scolaire francophone Sud in New Brunswick, thanks to a partnership between the Réseau des cafétérias communautaires and Récolte de chez nous, enables students to eat locally, develop ties with local producers and enjoy varied and interesting educational experiences related to food and the world of agri-food.

Another best practice is the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique's food program at Victor Brodeur Elementary School in Victoria. Through this program, 200 meals are served daily at a cost of $4 to $6 per student. The meals are prepared and served by high school students under the supervision of a chef. The goal of the program is to provide students with healthy, balanced meals at affordable prices. Thanks to this program, the CSF of BC  has noted an increase in student concentration and a drop in discipline-related incidents.