Achi news desk-
A healthy school environment depends on children having access to healthy food at school.
That’s according to Nourish Nova Scotia, a non-profit organization. Access to a healthy meal can also help in other ways.
“As a mother who wakes up almost every morning and has to think about what my child is taking to school for lunch today, it would be a huge gift for many parents, whether they are stretched for time or are they pressed for money to get their children to eat at school,” said Lisa Roberts, executive director of Nourish Nova Scotia.
On Monday, the federal government announced a $1 billion national school food program. The funding will be included in the upcoming budget. Canada is the only G7 country without a program like this.
Nourish Nova Scotia has been calling for something similar for a long time.
Roberts says research shows that a lunch program could reduce grocery budgets by about 20 percent for the average family. He hopes that the newly announced program will offer more than just meals, and give young people the opportunity to engage in healthy eating.
“Ideally, also, providing opportunities for children and young people to develop their food skills, which provides opportunities for local economic development including for farmers, but also for food entrepreneurs,” said Roberts.
The federal announcement comes a month after the Nova Scotia government announced a public school lunch program.
Although the concept will be new to many schools, it is something a Nova Scotia company is very familiar with.
“Currently, Food For Thought manages a number of school lunch programs across Canada. We manage school lunch programs here in Nova Scotia, with the Annapolis Valley, as well as New Brunswick, Manitoba and British Columbia,” said co- Food For Thought founder and CEO Melissa MacMaster.
She says the software saves schools time and reduces the stigma surrounding food insecurity.
“Everybody’s financial situation changes from day to day and, you know, taking that stress off the parents and having the ability to go on our software and order lunch and have those two options of partial payment or no payment doing real things. much easier for them during these difficult times,” said MacMaster.
On average, it costs about $5 for a healthy school lunch, and the partial payment option allows parents to spend $2.50 to ensure their children get a healthy meal.
