'We should all be appalled': Local leaders push for nation-wide student breakfast program

Students are coming to school hungry.

“This is why we brought these leaders together, [because] this is the start of the movement,” said Lorraine Goddard, executive director of the United Way who is joined by the VON, Ontario Student Nutrition Program, St. Clair College, and more to change that.

In a release, the group stated that Canada is the only industrialized country that doesn’t have a national school meal program.

“We're hearing from school teachers and administrators that students are coming to school even hungrier than before,” said Danielle Findlay, OSNP community relations. “It's an unprecedented time with respect to the needs of food.”

There are 94 schools area that are part of the Ontario School Nutrition Program, which Findlay said is up one school from last year. Eight schools are on a wait list.

“I think in a country as wealthy as Canada, we should all be appalled by this and it should be unacceptable,” said Goddard. “Food is a right and it's not a commodity.”

Last week, the Ontario government added $5 million to the Student Nutrition Program and started a fundraising campaign to raise another $5 million for that program, but local officials say they don't know how much of that money will make it to our region.

“What we would like to move to is a national school food program which would be a meal program,” Findlay said. “Right now, it's a snack program which is basically a band aid effort.”

June Muir, executive director of the UHC Hub of Opportunities, said a stronger student nutrition program would alleviate some stress off food banks.

“If we don't exist we'd be happy but that's not the case right now. We're getting hit hard and we are a necessity and everybody is coming to us,” said Muir.

A round table will be scheduled in the upcoming weeks to discuss community partnerships.

“We're going to leverage every network, every opportunity we have to elevate this. To force the federal government to actually put the dollars into the budget and let's get this going,” Goddard said.