What will happen to nutrition programs?
Details have yet to be finalized for how schools’ breakfast plans will work
Schools in Toronto are where some students fill not only their brains, but their stomachs.
Over 211,000 Toronto students participate in daily nutrition programs, according to Toronto Public Health, which are volunteer-run and aimed at making sure all students are fed well enough to concentrate in school. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizations which work collaboratively to deliver Toronto’s school nutrition program switched gears and started the Food for Kids program to provide $50 grocery store food cards for families in need. The amount was meant to cover the cost of a healthy breakfast for 30 days.
But now that schools are reopening, plans on how to restart the programs are still being nailed down.
Ontario’s plan for school reopening briefly mentions that nutrition programs “will be delivered in a way that any student who wishes to participate can do so.” It says a “Grab and Go format” is preferred and mentions disinfection protocols.
The TDSB is still finalizing plans through a subcommittee. “In elementary, we are considering prepackaged food to limit the amount of time volunteers spend in the school. In secondary, we will provide a Grab ‘n’ Go program,” Shari SchwartzMaltz, a spokesperson for the TDSB, said in a statement to the Star.
“Details as to exactly what they are going to look like are still being worked out, and we are working closely with school boards in this regard. We’re committed to helping nourish children,” said Cristina Caruso from Toronto Foundation for Student Success, a charity which administers nutrition programs with the TDSB.
Since students have the option to return to school or take classes remotely, access to these sorts of nutrition programs may still be limited as a result.
Sarah Vance, a secondary school TDSB teacher, said that even prior to the pandemic, nutrition programs at Toronto schools can vary from place to place. Not every school has them and for those that do, some may have a robust meal plan, while others offer small snacks.
“We were already in a situation in which school nutrition programs were not able to adequately address student food insecurity,” Vance said.
Vance and Gita Madan were two teachers who, along with Toronto Education Workers in Solidarity and FoodShare, started Food for Thought during the pandemic. In the time of need, Food for Thought delivered boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables to students and their families.
For students whose families were already food insecure, job loss during the pandemic put them in even more precarious situations, Madan said.
“We knew that our students were really in trouble, particularly students coming from racialized backgrounds who are disproportionately impacted by poverty,” Vance continued.
In Canada one in six children under the age of18 is affected by household food insecurity, according to PROOF’s 2020 report. Black and Indigenous households experience the highest rate of food insecurity relative to their population. Families with children and households that rely on social assistance are also disproportionately impacted, the study found.
Madan said the need is so great, Food for Thought eventually had to close its online request form every week. Since the initiative started, it has raised $145,000 and made deliveries to over 7,000 families. Over 130 people have volunteered, including students themselves.
Even though schools are reopening, accessing student nutrition programs may not be simple.
Vance is concerned that financial issues are likely to influence whether students return to school or opt for remote learning. Having worked in nine different schools, she has seen instances where schools can’t provide TTC tokens for students and kids miss school as a result of not being able to afford the fare.
Vance said the last round of Food for Thought deliveries will be next week. Afterwards, the team will pause and reassess based on how school reopening plays out.
Vance and Madan agree that while school nutrition programs and the Food for Thought initiative are a piece of tackling student food insecurity, it can’t be the only way.
They advocate for structural change, such as increasing and broadening access to CERB, Ontario Works and ODSP, rent control and a stop to evictions.
“There are so many families that are on the brink of survival at all times,” Madan said. “And it really shouldn’t be up to these student nutrition programs to fill the gaps just for basic survival.”