Today, Neil Hetherington, CEO, Daily Bread Food Bank, joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and community partners in announcing $108.5 million in federal funding to expand Ontario’s Student Nutrition Program. This agreement will provide an additional 9.8 million meals to Ontario children annually, reaching 160,000 more students across the province by the end of this school year — a meaningful step toward addressing child hunger across the province.
For families in Toronto, where over 100,000 children in 220 schools currently lack access to good food, this funding offers hope. It follows the City’s October commitment to expand current programming and create a universal Student Nutrition Program—an ambitious and necessary goal that Daily Bread Food Bank has been proud to support. However, to make that vision a reality, the federal and provincial governments will need to match Toronto’s investments in the universal program.
Childhood hunger is a serious concern in Toronto. According to Daily Bread’s 2024 Who’s Hungry report, 23% of food bank clients are children or youth. Parents regularly share heartbreaking stories of doing everything they can to put food on the table, including sacrificing their own meals to ensure their children are fed — a burden no family should bear.
Household hunger and food insecurity are proven to impact children’s mental and physical health, as well as their learning and development. Access to nutritious meals can transform a child’s ability to thrive academically and socially, breaking cycles of poverty — all while relieving pressure on low-income families who are struggling to make ends meet.
We applaud today’s federal funding announcement, which expands access to school meals for nearly 75% of Ontario’s schools. However, this is not yet universal access.
In Toronto, Mayor Olivia Chow’s plan for universal access to school meals matches the scale of need and reflects the city’s commitment to equity. By funding new programs in 21 schools for 8,000 children starting in January 2025, the city has laid a foundation. Now, we need other levels of government to rise to the occasion and ensure that no child is left behind.
Daily Bread Food Bank continues to call on the federal and provincial governments to match municipal funding for Toronto’s Student Nutrition Program and to flow funds rapidly, so that every child can get the support they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
We invite you to join us in this movement. If you believe every child deserves access to nutritious meals, advocate for a fully funded universal school meal program. Together, we can build a more equitable future for all children in Toronto and beyond.
Write to your elected officials from every level of government today through our online tool, urging them to implement the recommendations in our 2024 Who’s Hungry report — which include calls for full investments in Toronto’s Universal Student Nutrition Program.
