Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation. We must take immediate steps to feed kids beyond the end of June.
Summer should be an exciting time. Lazy days, dips in the local pool, picnics, games and time outdoors with family and friends. For many at-risk families and communities, however, the joys of a carefree summer are replaced with dread as they lose access to the crucial food programs they rely on during the school year for their children
Last summer, parents told us they would keep their children home from activities because they did not have any money or food to provide lunch for them until they got paid at the end of the week. We were able to help bridge the gap, but it was a Band-Aid solution.
Based on international best practices and Canadian kids being out of school 30 per cent of the year, we call on all levels of government to implement the National School Food Program as soon as possible — and reserve at least 15 per cent of school food program funding for non-instructional days.
In the short term, the program provides healthy food options while mitigating cognitive decline and summer learning loss. The longer-term impacts are where the results really shine, with increasing high school graduation rates, reduced susceptibility to chronic disease and a decrease in mental illness.
Manitoba and Prince Edward Island have taken steps to feed hungry children in the summer. Manitoba has also included the after-school hours, recognizing the need to provide evening snacks and meals to youth most in need. In these cases, governments are partnering with existing, local non-profit providers to reach youth most in need. The programs will leverage existing food supports. Both programs will also provide early Canadian data on the impact and outcomes of year-round school food programs. The City of Toronto has also committed to the early stages of a pilot program.
Canada is the last G7 country to create a national school food program. It’s heartbreaking, it’s unfair, it’s un-Canadian. If we don’t take immediate steps to feed kids beyond the end of June, things will get a lot worse before they get better. Because unlike legislatures, hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation.