Responses will help the Government of Canada set the groundwork to improve children’s access to nutritious food at school
According to recent data, 15.9% of households in the10 provinces experienced some level of food insecurity in the past year. This amounts to 5.8 million people, including almost 1.4 million children under the age of 18.
The 2021 PROOF report “Household Food Insecurity in Canada” confirms that one in five children are at risk of going to school hungry. PROOF is a research program at the University of Toronto launched in 2011 to identify effective policy interventions to address household food insecurity.
School meal programs can help reduce hunger and food insecurity, improve children’s access to nutritious food, improve academic achievement, and help support families by reducing food costs.
This week, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development announced the opening of consultations with Canadians to seek feedback on a national school food policy. One method for collecting this feedback is through an online questionnaire.
The input received through the questionnaire will help build a national school food policy that is responsive to the evolving needs of children and families, while also setting a foundation for a future where more children in Canada have access to nutritious food while at school.
The online questionnaire will be available until December 16.
To take the questionnaire, scroll down the page to “Join in: How to participate” and “Share your ideas online“
Click here to read the full report.
Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels