Submission to the Pre-Budget Consultations in advance of the 2023 Budget

In October 2022 the Coalition for Healthy School Food submitted its Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2023 Budget. We used this opportunity to recommend that the Government of Canada:

1. Allocate $1 billion over five years and collaborate with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to provide them with an initial $200 million as soon as possible to fund their existing school food programs.

2. Create a separate School Food Fund grants program of, at minimum, $50 million that would provide infrastructure and capacity building funding.

3. Enter into discussions with First Nation, Inuit and Métis leadership to negotiate independent School Food Policy agreements for long-term and sustainable funding for Indigenous school nutritious meal programs.

Such an investment would:

• Take pressure off of the family budget and be a support for the millions of children and youth who are increasingly unable to access healthy food given the substantial rise in food prices.

• Help level the playing field and ensure that all students are able to access a healthy meal or snack each day.

• Support job growth while helping to strengthen the physical and mental health and wellbeing of students, their families and communities.

• Create jobs in diverse sectors, including agriculture, food services, food manufacturing and distribution, construction, environmentally sustainable industries, and health.

• Directly advance Canada’s commitments towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

We stated that these actions in Budget 2023 would be the initial steps towards more comprehensive medium-term actions including the establishment of a National School Food Policy, negotiated funding agreements with provinces and territories and negotiated funding agreements with Indigenous Nations and leaders.

Read our full pre-budget submission, which shares more details about how the development of a School Food Program for Canada could help advance the health and wellbeing of children, youth and families in Canada as well as the Canadian economy.