The federal government is moving to make its National School Food Program permanent and introduce it to more schools.
The program was rolled out in the NWT earlier this year.
In the territory, it involved an initial sum of $7.4 million over three years – distributed at the territorial government’s discretion – to “enhance or increase the amount and the types of foods that are offered at every single school across the territories.”
The money pays for staff dedicated to school food programming, increasing the availability of traditional foods, and improving the nutritional value of meals offered to kids, as well as school kitchen equipment and renovations.
The change announced on Friday is part of Budget 2025, meaning it’ll require that next month’s federal budget is passed.
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Ottawa says it’s pledging to turn the nationwide program from a five-year commitment to a permanent initiative with funding of $216.6 million per year from 2029-30, when the original $1-billion assigned to it runs out.
