In the document laying out the mayor’s 2026 budget, the first initiative mentioned is the city’s school food program, touting an expansion of a free morning meal from 73 to 228 schools. “Think about every school in town, think about if they were all local restaurants,” said Debbie Field, national coordinator for Coalition for Healthy School Food, the country’s largest school food advocacy network. “So, we're going to be able to increase the quality of the food, the local food and get a better price,” she said. At the North York Harvest Food Bank, executive director Ryan Noble said the pilot project will also be an opportunity to demonstrate how delivering a school food program in partnership with a non-profit like his can also create jobs. In 2024, the federal government announced it would spend $1 billion over five years to work with provinces on implementing a school food program.

Source: CBC News March 03, 2026 06:03 UTC