February 24, 2025 Halifax, Nova Scotia Employment and Social Development Canada
School food programs make life easier. They provide healthy meals to kids throughout the school year. They also save working families hundreds of dollars in grocery bills.
Today, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, the Honourable Darren Fisher, Minister of Veteran Affairs Canada and the Honourable Brendan Maguire, Nova Scotia's Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development announced an agreement between Canada and Nova Scotia under the National School Food Program. It will enhance school breakfast programming for all 373 schools across the province, which is currently serving approximately 52,000 kids this school year. With this agreement, families in Nova Scotia with two children in school can save $800 in grocery bills a year on average.
As part of this agreement, the Government of Canada will invest approximately $12.4 million over the next three years to feed more kids. For the 2024-25 school year, that will include offering a more robust and consistent breakfast program in schools across the province, purchasing new kitchen equipment, hiring additional program coordinators, and developing new recipes for the launch of the next phase of the pay-what-you-can lunch program. These enhancements are particularly significant for rural and remote communities in Nova Scotia and will provide children most affected by food insecurity with access to more consistent and nutritious meals at school.
Building a National School Food Program that works for families is part of the federal government's commitment to help life be more affordable for families across the country so they can focus on raising their kids. We're creating more middle-class jobs, building more homes, expanding affordable dental care and creating more affordable child care spots - so they can buy the things they need and save for the things they want.
