Canada remains one of the few industrialized countries without a national school food program. Canada’s current patchwork of school food programming reaches only a small percentage of our over five million students. Universal school food programs support student health and wellness and school and community connectedness. School food programs also bring benefits beyond the school by supporting families facing food insecurity, and supporting local farmers and the economy by sourcing local food and creating jobs.
The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) advocates for universal school food programming as a steering committee member of the Nova Scotia Advisory of the Coalition for Healthy School Food (NS-CHSF) which brings together stakeholders from regions and sectors across Nova Scotia to engage in dialogue, share resources, and collaborate on collective advocacy towards the development of a Canada-wide school food program that meets the diverse needs of Nova Scotia school communities based on the Coalition’s guiding principles.