Island students will have increased access to healthy, affordable and local food this upcoming school year.

A new provincewide Healthy School Lunch Program will use a pay-what-you-can model, to a maximum of $5 per meal, in partnership with local producers to provide healthy food options that meet Canada’s Food Guide. 

The program will provide an opportunity for families to order student lunches from local vendors, which will be delivered to schools each day. A custom website is being developed to make ordering and paying online easy. 

The Department of Education and Lifelong Learning is currently finalizing a list of local vendors across the Island and will share that information with families soon. 

Students will also still be able to buy hot lunch options provided by existing food vendors in their schools.   

The new Healthy School Lunch Program will complement the six healthy school food pilots that began in January and will continue this fall school year at Kinkora Regional High, Amherst Cove Consolidated, Somerset Consolidated, Ecole Pierre-Chiasson, West Kent Elementary and Montague Regional High. 

The goals of both programs are to provide healthy and affordable options to all students while using local food when possible, provide equitable access for all students by offering various payment options such as the pay-what-you-can model and provide food literacy opportunities for all students. 

These programs will guide the province’s plans for a universal healthy school food program to provide a healthy, hot meal option within each Island school beginning in the 2021-22 school year. 

“The P.E.I. Home and School Federation is pleased to learn about the continued and expanded school food initiatives to support Island children,” said federation president Cory Thomas.

“Such a program supports our children by providing nutritious food. The program also supports Island farmers, fishers and our many small businesses.”

The food security program that began delivering meals to students at home when schools closed in March is also continuing during July and August.