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Overview

Student Nutrition Programs (SNPs) offer school-aged children and youth access to nutritious foods through a mid-morning meal program. Meals served are typically breakfast and snacks,  with a limited number of lunch programs offered throughout the province. Within schools that operate programs, SNPs are designed to be universally accessible, so any student who wants to access food can do so without stigma. 

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As of 2023-24, over 5000 SNPs operated in approximately 80% of publicly funded schools and community sites across Ontario, delivered with the support of 14 regional Lead Agencies, community partners, and advisory councils in collaboration with schools and school boards. Almost 40% of students access SNPs throughout the province. Thousands of volunteers within the school community support programs on the ground (i.e. parents, grandparents, educators, custodians, administrators, etc). It is currently very rare for SNPs to have paid staff dedicated to the delivery of programs at the school level. 

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Learn more about Ontario Student Nutrition programs at Student Nutrition Ontario, and see the Ontario SNP Nutrition Guidelines here. 

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There are many other important types of school-based food programs currently operating across Ontario which do not receive provincial funding, including: food literacy initiatives, comprehensive lunch programs, and after school and summer programs. These are generally operated by independent non-profit organizations, or supported by other food service agencies or municipal governments. To get a sense of the diversity of these organizations, see our members and endorsers list and Farm to Cafeteria’s School Food map.

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Funding

​​As of 2025, the Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, provides seed funding that covers a fraction of overall operational costs, investing $32.2 million annually including $28.1 million/year for Ontario SNPs and and $4.1 million annually for First Nation SNPs. An additional $5.4 million is funded by the Ministry of Health for the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program, which supports schools in northern communities who access the program for 20 weeks/year.

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In addition to the provincial investment, Ontario SNPs rely on a wide-range of non-governmental organizations for monetary and food donations in order to operate. Some municipalities also invest in school food programs, including the City of Toronto, Ottawa, Brampton, Hamilton, Cambridge, and Kingston, as well as Prince Edward County and Norfolk.

 

While Ontario has been a leader in school food and was one of the first provinces to invest in school-based nutrition programs starting in the 1990s, the core SNP investment has not increased in 10 years. Ontario’s total investment of $37.6M annually amounts to 10¢ per student per day, while the national median P/T contribution is nearly four times higher at 39¢/student/day.

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Challenges

Ontario Student Nutrition Programs have been experiencing the pressure of record-high food costs and increased participation rates, and are struggling to feed the children and youth who access them. Despite on-going efforts and success in community-level fundraising, many SNPs have been unable to run their programs at full capacity over the past three years, including having to limit the quality and quantity of food served to students due to funding shortfalls. This negatively impacts the learning, health, and success of the children and youth who access programs, while limiting SNPs’ ability to maximize efficiencies and strategically grow and enhance their programs.

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Recent Actions & Next Steps

In response to the province-wide pressures and calls for action from school food supporters in 2023, including our ON-CHSF letter to Minister Parsa, the Ontario government provided a one-time investment of $6.15M additional funds for SNPs in 2023, which the ON-CHSF and SNPs across Ontario were grateful for.

 

In November 2024, Ontario also became the 3rd province to sign on to the national school food program. The agreement with the Government of Canada will provide $108.5 million over the next three years for the Ontario Student Nutrition Program and First Nation Student Nutrition Program. Ontario showed leadership by negotiating this deal, which is an important step to help strengthen student nutrition programs in Ontario.

 

As a next step, Ontario has a significant opportunity to build on the federal funding to address the cost of living crisis and ensure children and youth are well-nourished and ready to learn. In Budget 2025, the ON-CHSF recommends Ontario add $115 million, which will almost double the number of students that can access a mid-morning meal at school while supporting SNPs with flexibility to hire staff, buy infrastructure, and take other actions to ensure programs can operate sustainability and efficiently. This will also raise Ontario's per capita contribution to be in line with the national P/T median (39¢/student/day) and match funds raised by community partners, Lead Agencies, and other funders.

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Given the overwhelming economic and social benefits of school food programs, the ON-CHSF also recommends that Ontario develop a plan to strategically grow school food programs in the province and commit to a universal school food program by 2030 to offer meaningful, on-going support for families, children, and youth.

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School Food Across Canada

Recently, many provinces have increased their funding for school food programs as a way to support children and youth and as one response to the cost of living crisis, including:
 

• Nova Scotia pledged $80 million annually in Budget 2025 for their pay-what-you-can lunch program which began in 2024-25 with an investment of $18.8M

• New Brunswick has committed to $27.4 for a universal breakfast and pay-what-you-can lunch program

• Manitoba invested $30M in 2024-25 to develop a universal program for the province, up from $2.5M/year in 2023

• Quebec’s school food investment is over $72 million annually, which supports school meals and food literacy programs

• British Columbia invested $214.5 million over three years in 2023 

 

Ontario has the opportunity to be a leader in school food by leveraging the federal school food funds with an increased provincial investment. Additional provincial funding would allow Ontario to stabilize and grow its programs to provide meaningful, on-going support for students, families, and school food providers. See the rationale and impact of more provincial funding in our ON-CHSF’s 2025 pre-budget submission. 

Over time, the ON-CHSF hopes to see sufficient provincial, federal, and municipal investment in school food programs so the provincial program can strategically grow to align with best practices, Canada’s National School Food Policy, and leading models around the world.