Push is on for all kids in B.C. to get free, healthy lunches
Staff at George Jay Elementary school in Victoria were busy preparing a free, nutritious lunch on Tuesday for about 30 kids. It’s food for kids who otherwise might go without at lunch.
The school’s principal, Sarah Winkler, says the lunches are an important part of the day for many children.
“Being able to provide a healthy lunch for as many kids as need it -- everyday -- just changes their outlook tremendously,” said Winkler Tuesday.
The meals are funded by the province -- with money set aside in this spring’s budget. It’s a program providing $214 million over three years for school districts across B.C.
“It is first time ever in the history of British Columbia that we are investing this kind of money into a school meals program,” said B.C. Education Minister Rachna Singh.
Green Party MLA for Saanich North Adam Olsen applauds the funding, but is pushing to expand it -- to include free lunches for all kids across the province.
“By destigmatizing the environment... kids are not being identified unnecessarily and everybody has a chance to learn,” said Olsen.
Meanwhile, the Coalition for Healthy School Food points out B.C. is leading the way amongst all provinces in funding lunches. Debbie Field, who heads up the national group, says it’s campaigning for Ottawa to contribute to school lunches across the country.
“We’re advocating that Canada join the other G7 countries -- and most of the developing countries in the world -- in having a cost shared program between levels of government,” said Field.
With the cost of food soaring, staff at George Jay Elementary predict the number of children benefiting from a free healthy lunch will hit 80 kids soon. They say they can accommodate that need based on how much the district has given them. They also emphasize the impact on the kids is striking.
“Their readiness to get to learning happens when we’ve fed them -- so we can’t get to learning if we don’t have full tummies,” said Winkler.
Singh says she welcomes federal support, and adds providing more provincial funding for school food isn’t off the table.
However, the province is awaiting feedback from the districts at the end of the three-year project.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.