The Impact of School Meals

Canada is on its way to implement a national school lunch program across the country, a key initiative by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Here, we discuss the success and impact of this progressive policy.

If you were asked to fill in the blank: “School meals are ___,” what’s the first word that pops into your mind? During the past ten years, the industry that provides school meals has been in the news, as well as on social media. What does school represent to anyone who has any kind of opinion? One teacher reported a story of his student, Dylan. He was always late to school. He would scream at his mother and father all morning, continually upset regardless of how late he arrived. Weeks into trying to understand Dylan’s behaviour, after talking to his mother and seeking reasons why, the teacher finally discovered the truth. Dylan courageously admitted, “I only eat two meals a day, and when I’m late, I miss breakfast.”

Like many students, Dylan relied on school meals for most of his food. His story is not an exception. Many schools in Canada share this reality, with a large number of children in similar situations. One in three children do not regularly eat breakfast, and research indicates that in every classroom, there are four children who do not have regular meals at home.

To most, however, school meals are seen as an add-on, a break in the day. But hunger impacts education negatively. Students like Dylan are likely to lose concentration, find studying a struggle, and experience developmental delays. Indeed, hunger directly impacts a child’s ability to learn.

We often overlook the importance of teaching children about nutrition. Many children today are disconnected from their food, growing up eating from boxes, bags, and cans. The food industry spends billions marketing processed foods to kids, and portion sizes have more than tripled. As a result, we’re seeing adult-onset diseases, like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, in children.

If these trends are to change, schools have to be at the forefront. Presently, school meals consist of well-balanced portions of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and milk. Schools are introducing healthier, scratch-cooked meals with a positive health impact on children.

With this, kids are encouraged to enjoy healthier foods. Students now excitedly request recipes and try more items at the salad bars, including fresh vegetables like their favorite radishes and jicama, embracing these small moments of positive change in eating habits.

But school meals do more than promote physical well-being; they also nourish mental and emotional health. Hunger in children is strongly related to anxiety, hyperactivity, and aggression. For teenagers in high school, hunger is linked to depression and even suicide. Hunger affects all of us, but for kids like Dylan, it can be devastating.

Imagine sitting through hours of school without having eaten. How much could you really absorb? Dylan hadn’t eaten for 19 hours. He missed breakfast and had to wait four more hours until he could eat lunch.

We need to reconsider how we think about school meals. They’re not just a break in the day—they're a critical component of education. Cafeterias can evolve into nutrition centres that help secure a healthier future for our children. School meals matter, and they’re essential for the development of our children.