April 22 to 30 marks National Immunization Awareness Week (NIAW), an annual event highlighting and recognizing immunization's importance for all ages. NIAW coincides with World Immunization Week 2024 which is celebrating 50 years of the World Health Organization’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).
This collaborative effort is estimated to have saved over 150 million lives in the past 50 years and has nearly eradicated smallpox and polio.
To learn more, please visit: https://immunize.ca/
The Sandbox Project welcomes the announcement of $1 Billion in funding for a National School Program. This marks a significant step towards ensuring every child has access to nutritious meals, regardless of their socio-economic background.
Taken from the Coalition for Healthy School Food website. To visit, please click here
TORONTO, April 1, 2024 - The Coalition for Healthy School Food, Canada’s largest school food network, welcomes, with great enthusiasm, today’s announcement by the Government of Canada of $1 billion over 5 years for a National School Food Program. This investment will make a significant positive difference in the lives of children and families throughout the country.
“We are thrilled that the Government has taken this momentous step for Canada and joined the rest of the G7, and most other countries in the world, in recognizing the critical importance of school food,” said Debbie Field, Coordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food. “As a coalition of hundreds of community-based organizations and many thousands of parents and teachers, we have been working for years to build provincial and territorial investments and do what we can to support school food programs throughout the country. We are delighted that the federal government will partner with provinces, territories, Indigenous leadership and our broader movement to build a strong national school food program that is efficient and responsive to the needs of children, their parents, educators and communities across Canada.”
A national school food program is needed now more than ever. Inflation and affordability pressures mean that more and more families are finding it difficult to access nutritious food, with food insecurity affecting 1 in 4 children (nearly 1.5 million students). Amberley T. Ruetz, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Saskatchewan, shared that “school meals can immediately take pressure off household budgets, saving families between ~$130 to $190 CAD per child per month on grocery bills. A national school food program will improve student diets, which are poor across all socio-economic backgrounds, and strengthen communities and the local economy, creating demand for locally grown, produced and sourced food. Overall, universal free school meals have an impressive return on investment - 2.5x - 7x return in human health and economic benefits.”
The Coalition offers its deep thanks, on behalf of the movement, children, and families throughout the country, to Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Freeland (Finance and Deputy Prime Minister), and Minister Sudds (Families, Children and Social Development) as well as countless other decision-makers who have made this investment possible. A national school food program will join universal child care and the Canada Child Benefit as crucial family supports, just as universal healthcare and publicly funded K-12 education have transformed lives over the past decades.
"With the continued increase in food prices and rising student demand, organizations like ours, that provide meals to thousands of students every day, need investment more than ever,” said Thibaud Liné, executive director at Quebec’s La Cantine pour tous. “We welcome the federal government’s move to join with the provinces and territories to fund these vital programs.”
Tyler Arsenault, Regional Student Nutrition Program Manager for the Hamilton-Niagara region in Ontario, agreed: “Since the start of COVID-19 we have seen a forty percent increase in the number of children and youth that participate in our Student Nutrition Program. When combined with the rising cost of food, these financial pressures have made it so that programs have had to limit the number of days they offer food despite record-breaking fundraising efforts. Some schools remain on waiting lists. Today’s announcement is incredibly welcome; I know that countless individuals, who have been working so tirelessly to nourish students to support their learning, development, academic and future success, are feeling enormous relief and celebration.”
“This investment will play a pivotal role in helping to prevent hunger and promoting healthy eating among kids in Canada,” said Doug Roth, CEO of Heart & Stroke. “Evidence shows that school food programs help to produce better health and educational outcomes. Increased consumption of healthy foods can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke as well as other chronic conditions."
Daniel Bierstone shared “as a pediatrician working in school-based clinics within some of Toronto’s most underserved communities, I treat children for a variety of school-related concerns including ADHD, autism, anxiety, and learning challenges. We know from studies - and I have seen it among my patients - that kids who eat a morning meal experience less hunger, headaches, stomach aches, and dizziness – all things that impact students’ functioning at school. I often breathe a sigh of relief when I find out that my patient has a snack or meal program in their school. I know that this will increase their chances of not going to school hungry and accessing healthy food. The federal government’s investment today will make an enormous difference for the lives of children and families across the country.”
The President of the CTF/FCE, Heidi Yetman, emphasized the importance of this investment, stating that it is not just a matter of policy but a moral imperative. “With more families struggling to afford basic necessities, including food, the implementation of a Universal School Food Program is necessary to ensure that students have access to nutritious meals. This program will also contribute greatly to creating more conducive learning environments and supporting students’ overall success”.
Since it was established in 2014, the Coalition has been calling for a program that is in line with its 8 Guiding Principles, specifically that supports healthy eating, is universally accessible without stigma, is cost-shared, flexibly supports different program models to meet the unique needs of communities, is controlled by Indigenous leadership in Indigenous communities, is a driver of community economic development, promotes food literacy, and is supported by conflict-of-interest safeguards.
"We look forward to seeing how these programs will continue to strive towards health promotion in how they are implemented, and how they will be supported to bring in locally grown foods, including Indigenous traditional foods," said Sydney Richards, Director of Indigenous Programs and Partnerships at Canadian Feed the Children and Co-Chair of the Indigenous School Food Circle. "We ask the federal government to honour its commitment to advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by prioritizing Indigenous food sovereignty in these programs, as well as by negotiating agreements for independent distinctions-based school meal programs with Indigenous leaders."
A universal school food program has the potential to be a game changer in the pursuit of food sovereignty” said Wendie Wilson, with the Pan-Canadian African Food Sovereignty Network. “I would love to see this funding work towards boosting economics for families who are most impacted by food insecurity. Giving low income families the opportunity to provide meals for their communities using local food and resources can promote gainful employment and business opportunities that will help alleviate issues around income. If we are interested in making the greatest impact it is imperative that we localize the procurement of school food. With 36% of Black children and over 50% of Indigenous children in Canada being food insecure it would be advantageous to prioritize these communities for procurement and economic opportunities.”
Jesse Veenstra, Executive Director at Farm to Cafeteria Canada, spoke about how a coordinated school food program “has enormous potential to create more stable and predictable markets for farmers and other food providers. Across the country schools are eager to connect with the people who grow and produce food in and for their communities, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has identified public food procurement, which includes school food programs, as having significant potential to support food system transformation and healthy diets.”
Samantha Gambling, Provincial Lead of the BC Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, has been supporting conversations with youth in BC to ask what they would like to see in a school food program. Youth have said that they want to see food programs that are affordable, that involve students, where the food is nutritions, balanced and flavourful, and that includes foods traditional to their cultures. Samantha shares that “I know how much students want a quality school food program. I’m so pleased that this federal investment will bring us a step closer to their vision.”
Lindsay Corbin, Coordinator of the Nova Scotia Coalition Chapter points to how "this historic announcement complements investments made by other levels of government, culminating in a unified effort to nourish children so they can reach their potential. Nova Scotia recently joined a growing list of provinces, territories and municipalities making significant school food investments. As the largest school food network in Canada, the Coalition for Healthy School Food looks forward to supporting the development of successful programs in the many diverse communities throughout the country. There is no ‘one size fits all’ program. Instead, we’re ready to tap into the wisdom of students, families, and staff to understand their needs and assets, and then use our experience and academic expertise to work with them on solutions."
Today’s investment closes the loop on the government’s 2021 election platform commitment to invest $1 billion over 5 years and will enable them to advance the health, wellbeing, and academic performance of Canadian children and youth throughout the country, making sure that they can access nutritious food, are ready to learn, and are set up to succeed each school day. This federal leadership will also catalyze additional investments from provinces and territories, municipalities, and other sources by building a more solid foundation for strong school food programming.
About the Coalition for Healthy School Food
The Coalition for Healthy School Food’s 298 member organizations, 140 endorsers including organizations, agencies and municipalities, and thousands of supporters from across Canada, including active school food providers, academics, and experts, advocate for the creation of a universal cost-shared school food program for Canada that would see all K-12 students having daily access to healthy food at school. Building on existing programs across the country, the Coalition envisions that all schools will eventually serve a healthy meal or snack at little or no cost to students. These programs will include food education and serve culturally appropriate, local, sustainable food to the fullest extent possible. See our guiding principles for what our ideal school food program looks like.
Raissa Amany and Stacie Smith have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to advocacy, children’s healthcare, and youth engagement in Canada.
On February 12, Stacie Smith was announced as the Emerging Leader in the Atlantic Region for her work with The YCRH, ScienceUPFirst, Children’s Healthcare Canada, and Coalition for Healthy School Food.
Soon after, on March 5th, Raissa Amany was selected as one of Canada’s top 25 Women of Influence for her work with The YCRH, The Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions, Children First Canada, and the Kids Help Line.
The Sandbox Project congratulates the two leaders for their awards and the impact they continue to have.
“As we mark the first anniversary of the federal government's groundbreaking $200-billion deal with Canada's premiers to bolster health transfers over the next decade, it's a good time to reflect on our collective journey toward a future that is truly fit for children, youth and families.
In February 2023, the Prime Minister’s announcement of a $2 billion top-up to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT), was a long-awaited and welcomed step towards alleviating mounting pressures on our healthcare system, within pediatric hospitals and emergency rooms, but also across the continuum of care. The announcement delivered the promise of interim relief, however the reality is, one year later not much has changed.
Admissions data and first-hand reports from many of you consistently highlight ongoing pressures, in the community, and in the delivery of inpatient and outpatient hospital-based care. Pediatric intensive care units in certain jurisdictions face nearly two-to-one patient-to-bed ratios, and families in many regions endure prolonged waits for emergency care. From coast to coast, children continue to languish on wait lists for essential and time-sensitive healthcare interventions.
This situation is not sustainable, and the call to action is clear. In the year that has passed since the CHT funding was announced, only Nova Scotia and Ontario have taken measures to bolster capacity in children's health systems, creating a missed opportunity to leverage available funds for the benefit of our growing and increasingly complex population of children and youth.
The costs of inaction are staggering, as highlighted by a recent research series from Children’s Healthcare Canada and the Conference Board of Canada. The financial consequences linked to delays in children's healthcare services, whether the yearly $4 billion expenditure for children and adolescents with anxiety and depression or the projected trillion-dollar expense over a lifetime for neglecting early indications of mental health issues, are profound.
Simply put, status quo is not an option. Our historical siloed, patchwork approach to tackling the complex health and social needs of children, youth, and families is failing kids and their healthcare providers. To be clear, this is not a task for the provinces and territories alone. Federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments will be required to work alongside youth, families, and healthcare leaders, informed by research and other evidence to guide meaningful investments and collaborative action to tackle immediate pressures and increase capacity and responsiveness for future needs.
Our members have a role to play as well, designing and implementing holistic models of care that take into account mental, physical, and social healthcare needs, building partnerships that enable integrated care pathways for the most medically complex children, expanding capacity to care for children who reside in rural and remote regions, and designing transitions to adult care that match the needs of individual youth and families.
The expectations of Canadians are clear. Abacus Research conducted national polling that revealed 94 percent of Canadians agree it’s time to right-size healthcare systems for children and youth. It’s time for policy and funding to align with this level of enthusiasm.
Over the coming months, Children’s Healthcare Canada will be advancing a national campaign, in collaboration with health system partners, to advance this vision for healthcare systems designed to meet the needs of children, youth, and families. In order to realize success and co-create a future fit for kids, we will need your help.
Stay tuned for details on how you can get involved. We know you will agree that the time has come to move from advocacy to action, transforming Canada's healthcare systems to prioritize the health of our children and improve outcomes for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Email Gruenwoldt
President & CEO
Children’s Healthcare Canada”
To view the original post, please visit: A Message from Children's Healthcare Canada CEO, Emily Gruenwoldt (mailchi.mp)
In 2021, the MLSE Foundation launched the Change the Game Campaign. Since then, the annual reports have drawn attention to, among other issues, the urgent need for children to be able to play in safe and inclusive spaces, addressed accessibility issues that are limiting opportunities for youth to play, and developed stronger outreach strategies. Over 25,000 youth in Ontario participated in this research.
The 2024 Report explored access, engagement, and equity with a sub-focus on space spaces and positive sports environments for youth to recognize and reach their potential.
The report can be found here: Research (mlsefoundation.org)
