School Food included in Mandate Letters for first time
Posted: January 13, 2022
Categories: Edible Education Network / Good Food Ideas for Kids / GoodFoodBites / School Food News / Schools
On December 16, 2021, the Canadian Government released new ministerial mandate letters to Cabinet members, with the first-ever inclusion of a commitment “to develop a National School Food Policy and work towards a national school nutritious meal program.”
This is a historic moment for school food in Canada, and is very exciting news for those of us who have been advocating for a National School Food Program with the Coalition for Healthy School Food.
The mandate letter for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, included:
- In support of A Food Policy for Canada, continue to strengthen Canada’s food system by:
– Working with the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners and stakeholders to develop a National School Food Policy and to work toward a national school nutritious meal program
The mandate letter for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, included:
- Work with the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners and stakeholders to develop a National School Food Policy and work toward a national school nutritious meal program.
In addition, the mandate letter for the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, included:
- Recognizing that a healthy population is key to reducing vulnerability to health events, promote healthy eating by advancing the Healthy Eating Strategy. This includes finalizing the front-of-package labelling to promote healthy food choices and supporting restrictions on the commercial marketing of food and beverages to children.
The Coalition for Healthy School Food is reaching out to Ministers Bibeau, Gould and Duclos to ask for meetings to discuss these mandates and the Coalition’s guiding principles.
Learn more on the Coalition’s blog here, and stay tuned on their website for future developments!