The short version
The federal government now sends $140 million a year to the provinces and territories for school meals, double the 2024-25 amount (Employment and Social Development Canada, June 2026). The goal is to serve meals to up to 400,000 more kids every year. Ottawa estimates that a participating family with two children in school saves about $800 a year on groceries, on average. None of this money goes to families or straight to schools. It flows through the province, which puts it into its own programs. To find out what your child gets, or what your school can ask for, start with the principal.
What changed, in numbers
The National School Food Program was announced in Budget 2024 with $1 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25. All 13 provinces and territories have signed an agreement with Ottawa. Here is what the federal sources confirm.
| Item | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Federal money to provinces and territories | $140 million a year in 2025-26 and 2026-27, double 2024-25 [1] |
| Total under the agreements | Up to $350,599,672 (about $350.6 million) from 2024-25 to 2026-27, per the amounts listed in the Quebec agreement [4] |
| Children reached | Up to 400,000 more kids every year [1] |
| Savings for families | About $800 a year on groceries, on average, for a participating family with two children in school [1] |
| Schools with a program | More than 10,000, about 80% of schools run by the provinces and territories [1] |
| Law | The National School Food Program Act received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, through Bill C-15 [2] |
| After 2029 | $216.6 million a year starting in 2029-30, to make the program permanent [2] |
On September 9, 2026, Ottawa repeated these figures for back-to-school in Alberta, where federal funding reaches $17.6 million in 2026-27, on top of the province's $20 million a year [3].
The $800: what that number means
It is not a cheque or a tax credit. There is nothing to fill out. The figure is a federal estimate of what a family whose kids eat at school avoids spending on groceries, on average, over a year. The news releases do not show the calculation.
In practice, the saving depends on what the school serves. A breakfast every morning is not the same as a snack twice a week. A family whose school has no program saves nothing until something is offered.
In Quebec: how the money reaches the school
Quebec signed an asymmetrical agreement with Ottawa in March 2025. It respects Quebec's jurisdiction over education: Quebec provides a portrait of its programs instead of an action plan. The agreement runs from August 1, 2024, to March 31, 2027.
| Fiscal year | Federal money for Quebec |
|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $11,556,042 |
| 2025-26 | $26,825,205 |
| 2026-27 | $26,825,205 |
That is about $65.2 million over three years. Quebec itself invested $65.1 million in 2024-25 in school food aid [5].
Most of the money goes through budget measure 15012, Aide alimentaire, from Quebec's Education Ministry. It pays for breakfasts, lunches or snacks for students who need them, at school or in the daycare service. In 2024-25, 2,067 of 2,429 public schools reported offering food aid through this measure, and 797,170 of 1,198,987 students benefited [6].
Two organizations also play a large part, according to Quebec government data for 2024-25 [6]:
- Breakfast Club of Canada (Club des petits déjeuners): more than 12.3 million breakfasts served to 82,121 students in 467 schools.
- La Cantine pour tous: more than 1 million lunches served to 15,425 students in 158 schools.
The agreement spells out what federal money can pay for in Quebec: food purchases, staffing, facilities to prepare, deliver or store food safely, transportation, equipment and logistics.
Elsewhere in Canada
Each province has its own way in. Two examples:
- Ontario: federal money strengthens the Student Nutrition Program and two other programs. The Student Nutrition Program works through 13 lead agencies that partner with school boards and schools. In 2024-25 it reached 3,963 schools and 1,844,621 enrolled students, according to Ontario's action plan.
- Alberta: more than 58,000 students already benefit from the province's School Nutrition Program, according to the September 9, 2026 release.
What parents can do this week
- Ask what the school offers. Breakfast, snack or lunch? Which days? For every student or only some? The principal or the daycare service has the answer.
- Share allergy information. If your child has an allergy or a dietary restriction, tell the school before the first meal, not after.
- Do not wait to be "eligible". If your child is hungry in the morning, talk to the teacher or the principal, even if you are not sure what your child qualifies for.
- Raise it at the governing board. If the school has no program, a parent on the governing board (conseil d'établissement in Quebec, school council in Ontario) can ask to put it on the agenda.
- Offer a hand. Ask whether the program needs volunteers to prepare or serve food.
For a school that wants to start or grow a program
You do not apply to Ottawa for this money. It flows through the province or territory. Here is the order of steps that saves the most time.
- Find out the school's allocation. In Quebec, measure 15012 is paid to the school service centre. The principal can ask the service centre how much goes to the school and what is left to spend this year.
- Contact a partner organization. In Quebec, Breakfast Club of Canada and La Cantine pour tous already serve hundreds of schools. In Ontario, contact the Student Nutrition Program lead agency for your area.
- Aim at what the money can pay for. The federal examples are concrete: hiring staff to prepare and serve meals, and buying kitchen equipment. In Quebec, the agreement adds transportation and facilities to store food.
- Follow the national policy's principles. The National School Food Policy of June 20, 2024 asks for programs that are accessible without stigma, health promoting, inclusive, flexible, sustainable and accountable.
- Keep the numbers. Under the agreement [4], Quebec makes data on its school food programs public every year. A simple log (meals served, students, cost) makes next year's request easier.
One date to note: the current agreements end on March 31, 2027. Permanent funding of $216.6 million a year starts in 2029-30. A program that starts this year should plan for its fixed costs.
In the classroom
The first principle of the national policy is access without stigma. In class, that comes down to simple habits. Offer the snack to the whole group rather than a few students. Never say out loud who eats through the program. Plan a moment when everyone eats at the same time. And if a student often arrives hungry, that is a matter for the principal, not for discipline.
Reach every family in the class
When the school starts or changes its meal program, the news has to reach every family, not just the ones who read the agenda. With LinoClass, a message to parents goes out from the same app as the class portfolio, and the information stays in Canada.
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