Providing students with healthy meals is at the top of the New Brunswick Liberal Party’s mind.
The Opposition leader announced Wednesday that they’d implement a universal school food program if elected.
Susan Holt stated that this effort will provide every New Brunswick student with access to free breakfasts as well as lunches that are pay-what-you-can.
The school food initiative will also prioritize locally sourced products from New Brunswick farmers and businesses.
“Our goal is to fill the gaps and make sure we have an equable salutation across the province, we don’t any school left out or any student left out,” said Holt.
“A school food program doesn’t just fill stomachs: it feeds minds. With regular, nutritious meals, students have the energy they need to attend classes, concentrate more, and absorb more knowledge, which will help us improve literacy and learning in general.
“By ensuring that every child is ready to learn, we will be able to reduce absenteeism, close achievement gaps and create a brighter future for all.”
Holt detailed that the initiative will be split into two parts, amounting to an annual investment of $27.4 million. This includes $9.3 million allocated for breakfast costs, while the remaining $18.1 million will cover lunch expenses.
On her recent educational tour across the province, Holt engaged with teachers and principals who recounted their observations of how hunger impacts students’ academic performance, literacy levels, and attendance rates.
She explained that one in four students goes to school hungry, due to parents juggling the cost of food, bills and other utilities, and 83.5 per cent of teachers paid out of their own pockets to provide food and clothes for their students at least once.
Holt assures the people of New Brunswick that the food program will be available to all students, designed in a way that ensures no one feels singled out or embarrassed for utilizing these services.
She added the initiative will help reduce grocery expenses for families, offer children a sense of stability, and foster a more supportive learning atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Education Minister Bill Hogan said the Liberal announcement is nothing more than a vote-buying promise that will not help families.
“Several schools have attempted ‘pay-what-you-can’ meal programs, and very few of them can survive, because they don’t have a dependable budget. If no one can afford to pay, then you run out of money to feed students by Christmas,” said Hogan.
Hogan said his government has worked with schools and various charities to ensure each school has a food program in place.
He adds they hope to be able to expand that “in a fiscally responsible manner” with new federal funding that is available.
