Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington deputed at today’s Executive Committee meeting as the City of Toronto tabled its Vision and Strategy for a Universal School Food Program. Through this initiative, the City aims to provide a morning meal in all Toronto school communities by the 2026/2027 school year and introduce a lunch program by 2030.
The item was unanimously passed by the Executive Committee and will now be discussed at City Council by the end of June.
Daily Bread Food Bank has been a strong advocate for this program. We wrote a letter of support that was co-signed by 67 of our member agencies and other community organizations affected by food insecurity. We’re grateful to all our partners for their continued advocacy and commitment to ending hunger in Toronto.
This initiative builds on Toronto City Council’s landmark declaration of food insecurity as an emergency in December 2024, which identified a universal School Food Program as a key opportunity to address child hunger.
The need for action has never been more urgent. In 2024, Daily Bread member food banks recorded over 3.75 million client visits—a staggering 273% increase since before the pandemic. Children and youth accounted for 23% of all food bank clients. This crisis is citywide, with food bank usage increasing by more than 30% in every area of the city last year compared to the year prior (Who’s Hungry 2024). And in some neighbourhoods, child poverty rates are reaching 61% (Social Planning Toronto).
“We know that when children can access food in schools, their health, academic performance, mental health and well-being all improve,” Neil said. “However, there isn’t just a moral reason for Council to unanimously support the program. It isn’t just about being compassionate or values based, it is about being fiscally responsible. It is far more costly to support people living in poverty than to prevent poverty in the first place.”
Watch the full deputation here:
As the City advances this critical work, we call on the Province of Ontario to match the City’s current and future investments in the Student Nutrition Program, and urge the Federal Government to increase its support through the National School Food Program.
Finally, we encourage the City to ensure that the food provided is culturally appropriate and locally sourced. Doing so will create a more inclusive program while aligning with broader efforts to strengthen Canada’s economic resilience in response to U.S. tariffs.
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