A Vision and Strategy for a Universal School Food Program in Toronto

- A strategic blueprint for establishing a universal lunch program by 2030. This report: - Summarizes best practices and a jurisdictional scan that informed the development of these strategies. - Provides an overview of the current state of student nutrition programs in Toronto. - Presents a vision and strategy to guide the development of a universal student nutrition program, including key capital and operating investment requirements. - Provides an overview of program governance, administration, and ongoing funding. - Outlines the framework for ongoing program measurement and evaluation. The development of the strategy has made it clear that sustained advocacy is essential to closing ongoing funding gaps. While both the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada currently provide funding, their contributions remain insufficient to meet the growing need. To ensure all children in Toronto have access to nutritious food at school, both levels of government must build on their existing commitments with increased, sustained, and equitable investment. [1] The report uses the term school communities to describe programs delivered in schools, as these programs are not implemented by the schools themselves but by the surrounding community, including parents/guardians, volunteers, and community groups. In some cases, the number of programs exceeds the number of school communities, as some offer multiple student nutrition programs, such as both a morning meal and a lunch program.

4. City Council amend the Toronto Public Health 2025 Capital Budget and 2026-2034 Plan to create a new capital project called "Universal Morning Meal Program", with a project cost of $7.492 million and cash flow commitments of $3.800 million in 2025 and $3.692 million in 2026, fully funded by Capital from Current, to administer and support one-time costs related to the accelerated rollout of Phase 3 (Winter 2026) and Phase 4 (Fall 2026) of the Student Nutrition Program, for the implementation of a universal morning meal program. 5. City Council authorize the Medical Officer of Health to enter into agreements and other suitable arrangements with Toronto Foundation for Student Success and Angel Foundation for Learning on behalf of the City of Toronto, for the transfer and administration of the approved 2025 "Universal Morning Meal Program" municipal capital funding to eligible Toronto student nutrition programs on terms satisfactory to the Acting Medical Officer of Health and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.