OUr Guiding principles

School food programs have the potential to improve children's lives, to strengthen communities, and to transform food systems. Several principles based on best practices can ensure these programs live up to their full potential.

heart inverted.png

Health-Promoting

Serve tasty, nourishing and culturally appropriate whole foods, focusing on vegetables and fruits. Ensure that programs are in line with the revised Canada’s Food Guide and that they foster a healthy food environment where students can develop a positive relationship with food.

parallel-universe inverted.png

Universal

Ensure that ALL children in a school can access the program in a non-stigmatizing manner. Over time, all children in Canada will be able to participate in a school food program.

piggy-bank inverted.png

Cost-shared

Use federal funding to both expand on current provincial, city, parental and community funding and to initiate new programs in a cost-shared model.

map-location inverted.png

Flexible and locally adapted 

Successful school food programs reflect and respect the local context of the school and region and are connected to their local communities. Ensure that funding builds on existing programs, local knowledge, skills and relationships and that it supports different food service models, from breakfast to lunch to snacks.

fish inverted.png

Committed to Indigenous Control over Programs for Indigenous Students

Embed Indigenous Food Sovereignty in a School Food Program for Canada and negotiate funding for school food programs with Indigenous Nations and leaders.

money-growth inverted.png

A Driver of Community Economic Development

Encourage school food programs to set local and sustainably produced food purchasing targets, which would create jobs for Canadian farmers and local food producers. 

recipe-book inverted.png

Promoting of Food Literacy

Support the conditions for school food programs to be integrated into the curriculum and enable food literacy and experiential food skills education.

handshake inverted.png

Supported by Guidance and Accountability Measures

Ensure that programs are guided by Canada-wide nutritional standards, conflict of interest safeguards that prevent programs from marketing unhealthy food and specific products, as well as a framework for consistent Canada-wide program evaluation 

These principles have been informed by the article "The case for a Canadian national school food program" in the Canadian Food Studies Journal Vol 5 No 3 (2018).

​

Download a summary of qualities that members of the Coalition would like to see in a School Food Program for Canada.