The City of Vancouver is reducing its funding for school meal programs — a move that has sparked alarm for the school board trustees worried about fewer meals reaching students who depend on them. Read More
The federal government recently pledged $39.4 million over three years to expand school food programs across more than 1,000 B.C. schools.
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The City of Vancouver is reducing its funding for school meal programs — a move that has sparked alarm for the school board trustees worried about fewer meals reaching students who depend on them.
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In a memo sent to Vancouver School Board trustees on Friday, city staff announced plans to cut funding from $320,000 in 2024 to just $162,500 in 2025, citing “significant budget pressures” and “substantive funding” expected to be provided by the provincial government.
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The memo suggests the school board has “a significant new funding source” and should be able to sustain the programs within its “anticipated resources.”
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“We were very pleased to be able to see senior government step into school food funding in 2023,” the memo reads, noting that B.C. has allocated $5.57 million for school board meal programs through 2026.
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However, Vancouver School Board chair Victoria Jung disagrees.
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“We do get provincial funding, but it’s not guaranteed year over year, and it doesn’t account for rising costs or labour increases,” Jung explained. “We don’t know if the province will give us the same amount as in the past. If a dollar is taken away, that means food from these programs is taken away.”
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Jung also expressed concern that by next year, the city’s funding could be completely eliminated.
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School board Trustee Suzie Mah said that despite funding from senior governments, a reduction in city funding will be “going to be a direct hit” for lower-income students who may be experiencing food insecurity.
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“We know the need is actually going up and food costs are skyrocketing,” Mah said. “This is just going to hit families living in poverty even harder”
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Since 2014, the City of Vancouver has provided $320,000 annually to the Vancouver School Board in support of various school food programs, which serve 3,500 meals to students each weekday as part of the City’s Healthy City Strategy. The majority of this funding has supported the Food4Schools lunch program, which provides subsidized meals to 258 students across 17 schools.
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Mah said this city grant money goes back several years and was approved by successive councils. She was “gobsmacked” to hear that it is now facing cuts.
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While school-based food programs typically fall under provincial jurisdiction, the city has stepped in to support local communities and address student food insecurity.
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“They understand that although they don’t fund the school district, they are looking after the people in their city,” explained Jung.
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However, the recent funding cut is a major concern, according to Jung. “Whether people are aware of the food insecurities in our city or not, there’s a huge need for these programs. Kids can’t learn when they’re hungry.”
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Vancouver elementary school teacher Brent Mansfield sees both the need, and the impact, of school meal programs every day.
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In 2019, Mansfield co-founded LunchLAB, an initiative that provides healthy, pay-what-you-can meals to students. The program now serves 200 meals daily at his school, Lord Roberts Elementary, and has expanded to four other schools across the district.
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“Programs like this improve students’ ability to learn, focus, and engage socially,” said Mansfield.
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LunchLAB is funded through a mix of municipal, provincial, and private donor contributions. It was first launched with support from the City of Vancouver’s Social Innovation Grant.
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Research by the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. shows that school food programs improve attendance, classroom behaviour, and social connections among students. With many still lacking access to consistent, nutritious meals, Mansfield believes stronger support is essential.
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“We need all levels of government involved to make sure these programs are supported to meet the growing needs of students,” he said.
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Not all B.C. municipalities have followed Vancouver’s lead in funding school meal programs. Surrey, the province’s second-largest city, provides no direct funding for its school board’s programs, which rely on provincial support and community donations.
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In response to the growing demand for school meal programs, the federal government recently pledged $39.4 million over three years to expand school food programs across more than 1,000 B.C. schools, benefitting approximately 90,000 children.
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The funding builds on the Ottawa’s broader $1-billion commitment made last year to implement universal nutrition programs nationwide over the next five years, with B.C. set to receive $71.4 million of that total.
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However, these federal and provincial dollars are not enough to satisfy demand. Donors to The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School program, for example, play a significant role in helping feed children in the city. Vancouver schools received about $400,000 from Adopt-A-School this year to pay for food and other necessities, benefitting 4,500 children.
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The annual campaign, supported by Sun readers, raised about $1.5 million for needy schools across the province during the most recent campaign that concluded in February.
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The city and the school board did not immediately reply for requests for comment.
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