Students rally as breakfast programs cut in Hamilton and Niagara amidst rising costs

When the 8 a.m. bell rings at Hamilton's Westdale Secondary School, too many students are hungry, says Grade 10 student Tomi Olagunju.

Since 2015, students who didn't have enough time for a morning meal or enough food to eat at home could grab a free bite from the school's nutrition program. The program served 40,000 meals last year alone, or around 100 students daily, according to Olagunju and Kleri Venizelos, a teacher and nutrition program co-ordinator.

But no more.

In February, Hamilton Tastebuds, the organization that delivers school nutrition programs in the city, cancelled Westdale's breakfast program as part of an effort to save money and extend the life of other struggling programs.

"For so many students, [Westdale's breakfast program was] their only source of nutrition," Olagunju told CBC Hamilton.

School nutrition program operators in Hamilton and Niagara, including Tastebuds, tell CBC Hamilton that's just one instance of a program cutback.

They say that due to increasing demand, rising food costs and dwindling donations, nutrition programs are offering fewer food groups, less programming or shutting down entirely.

Despite the announcement of a national school food program in the recent federal budget a program providers say they are awaiting more details on nutrition programs at about 30 per cent of Hamilton's high-need schools are cutting back, Tastebuds manager Bhairavi Kumar told CBC Hamilton. That's around a dozen schools.

That might look like offering an apple per student, as opposed to an apple, granola bar and cup of yogurt. And schools with two meal programs, including Westdale, are being reduced to one.

"We couldn't keep up," Kumar said of the costs. "It breaks our heart because we know that some kids are coming to school hungry for some of them, this is the only meal of the day."

Programs largely funded through donations

At Westdale Secondary, a lunch program continues, but Olagunju says that's not enough: "[Some students] have to wait for several hours before they can access anything to eat. I don't think it's right."

Olangunju is leading a student-run campaign called Bring Back Breakfast. At a rally in early May, students called for the restoration of their school's breakfast program, and for increased funding for school nutrition programs throughout Hamilton.

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Tomi Olagunju is one of the organizers leading a campaign to restore her Hamilton high school's breakfast program, which was cancelled due to a lack of funding.

Open to anyone, such programs exist in many schools throughout the province, funded in part by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, but mostly through grants and donations.

In 46 schools in the Hamilton area that the ministry designates as having the highest need, the province funds about 15 per cent of program costs, Kumar said. Tastebuds and schools themselves must fundraise to cover the rest.

According to Kumar, meals with three food groups cost them $1.75 on average. The organization serves an average of 20,000 students daily across 111 schools in Hamilton.

Lately, Kumar said, Tastebuds's purchasing power has been declining. Donors are also offering less, she said, adding that her team has "knocked on every door."

New funding a 'fraction' of what's needed: expert

For years, provincial funding has mostly been static, Kumar said, barring some emergency increases tied to pandemic relief.

"To see that annualized funding go up would help tremendously."

CBC Hamilton asked the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Servicesfor comment in response to the viewthat provincial funding is insufficient and if there are plans toincrease annual funding.

A ministry spokesperson did not answer those questions, but in an emailhighlighted the $6.5 million pledged toward student nutrition programsand First Nations nutrition programs last year. The spokesperson said about $525,000 of that went to Halidmand-Norfolk R.E.A.C.H., the lead agency co-ordinating nutrition programs in Hamilton, Niagara, Brantford, Brant and Haldimand-Norfolk.

In April, the federal government announced $1 billion in funding for the creation of a national school food program. It's unclear when new funding will start.

Kumar said she's been advocating for this for 15 years and was happy to learn about it.

"That's the best investment any government can make you're investing in the future of your country," when you feed children, she said.

However, Kumar, at least one program provider in Niagara and nutrition program expert Amberlery Ruetz say it won't be enough to establish a truly universal program.

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Rick Gosling is the founder and president of The Children's Breakfast Clubs. His organization has been serving hot meals in across schools in the GTA for 40 years. 

Ruetz, who co-chairs a school food working group at the University of Saskatchewan, has studied the economic benefits of school food programs.

Nutrition programs have long-term value, Ruetz said, noting that research shows children who grow up with access to nutritious food do better in school and have better economic outcomes later in life.

She said nutrition programs can be good business for local food growers, too.

However, Ruetz said, $1 billion over five years is a "fraction" of what's needed to feed all Canada's school children.

'We're not dealing with the root causes of the problem'

While preventing students from going hungry at school is important, Ruetzalso notes a school food program is not a replacement for "much-needed income supports."

Valerie Tarasuk, who leads the Proof food security research program at the University of Toronto, agrees.

When it comes to food insecurity, "we're not detailing with the root causes of the problem," she said, which is that too many people cannot afford food.

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Co-founder of the Breakfast Club of Canada Judith Barry joins Power & Politics to discuss the federal governments plan to invest $1 billion over five years in a new national school food program as part of the upcoming federal budget. Barry says one out of three students currently come to school hungry.

According to recent data, Proof reports, about 23 per cent of people in Canada's 10 provinces, were food insecure last year, amounting to 8.7 million people, including 2.1 million children.

In 2023, about 28 per cent of children under 18 lived in a food-insecure household.

"Those numbers are just terrible," Tarasuk said.

Need in Niagara growing, alongside costs

For Hamilton and Niagara students, the concerns continue.

Jessica Stephenson, who manages school nutrition program organization Niagara Nutrition Partners (NNP), said her team had to pause 13 Niagara-area school food programs before the end of the school term in June.

Many others had to cut back as NNP drained its emergency funds, Stephenson said.

Donors helped restore programs, and for this school year, NNP received about $100,000 extra from province. However, Stephenson said, some programs are still cutting back before summer.

"It's disappointing that we're still here." Stephenson said. "What we need is more money."

NNP oversees 201 programs across the region, and Stephenson said participation has increased over the last three years, from about 17,000 daily users, to more than 24,000.

With just five staff, no vehicle, and "barely any" storage space, that's a challenge to accommodate.

"We're in an affordability crisis and families are making difficult decisions at home," she said, adding that for many families, knowing there will be some food available at school is a relief.

'All they can think about'

In Hamilton,student trustees with theHamilton-Wentworth District School Board,Thomas Lin and Harry Wang, say they've asked public school board staff for an information report on the status of school food programs, in the hopes that they can expand them in the future.

"We don't really know if that's possible yet," Lin said, but he's heard from students who love the idea. "[Nutrition programs are] something they rely on," he said.

"No students should go to school hungry. Even with the new federal funding I am worried that it will not be a long and sustaining program that provides constant funding to all schools in Canada," Wang said in an email.

Olagunju, at Westdale Secondary, says students need to be consulted by decision makers because the stakes are high.

"I don't think we can expect students to focus in class and learn when all they can think about is how to get their next meal."