Madam Speaker, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to rise to speak in support of Bill C-322, an act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program.

It is quite similar to a bill I put forward in 2021, an act to develop a national strategy on school food security. I chose this as my PMB because, as a former teacher, I have seen first-hand how desperately a national school food program is truly needed in this country. Unfortunately, it never made it to second reading, because Parliament was dissolved. Therefore, it died on the Order Paper; however, I am really glad to see it brought back today and to be able to speak to it.

This bill would mandate the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, in consultation with the Minister of Health, provincial governments, indigenous governing bodies and other relevant stakeholders, to develop a national framework to establish a school food program. Within a year of the act coming into force, the minister must prepare a report setting out the national framework. The minister must table a report before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which the House is sitting after the report is completed. Within five years of tabling the report, the minister must undertake a review of the effectiveness of the national framework and prepare a report setting out his or her conclusions and recommendations regarding it.

I would like to explain why a bill of this nature is absolutely necessary in Canada. First, our children are sent to school to learn. Nutrition plays a key role in allowing that to happen; of course, good nutrition contributes to academic achievement. Child cognitive development depends on adequate nutrition. According to Roberts et al., “Inadequate protein and energy intake in childhood is directly associated with reduced growth, and is indicative of several psychosocial problems later in life”. They continue, “Undernourished children also exhibit impaired development and decreased functional capacity”, while “Children who do not receive adequate nutrition and psychosocial stimulation are likely to underperform in school and to have poor levels of cognition and education, which are linked to low-income earnings later in life”.

It is imperative for children to have access to healthy food, and we know that things are tough right now. Groceries are expensive, and the cost of living because of inflation has made it so that more and more families are having a difficult time putting food on the table. This bill would bring us closer to ensuring that our kids have access to at least one healthy meal every school day. It would ensure that our kids are not spending their school day thinking about how hungry they are or wondering when they are going to eat their next meal. Instead, they are able to focus on learning.

The effect of malnutrition on learning is not the only reason Bill C-322 is a necessity in Canada. When I think back to my teaching days, I remember seeing kids eat alone or walk in the hallways alone, just kind of disappearing during the lunch hour; that was one of the toughest parts. Something we often do not think about is the shame that a child or adolescent feels when they do not have a lunch. They are afraid of attracting attention to themselves during those moments, because they do not want to answer any uncomfortable questions about why they do not have a lunch with them. They do not want their peers to know that their families cannot afford to feed them. It impacts their self-esteem and their ability to fit in. Food insecurity limits a child's ability to fully participate in social activities and in their school community, which amplifies existing feelings of social isolation related to material deprivation.

No child should have to feel that way. No child should be subjected to unequal opportunities for friendships or positive social interactions. Edward Frongillo and colleagues investigated adolescents' experiences of shame related to food insecurity using an ethnically diverse sample of 40 adolescents aged nine to 15 years old. Participants described feelings of sadness, anger and internalized shame, and among the situations that brought out these feelings, the most common were social encounters at school among peers. This feeling of shame often leads to increased mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression and even suicidal ideation. That is why this bill is so important: It would give the government the opportunity to work with provincial governments, indigenous governing bodies and other stakeholders to develop the best possible framework to put in place.

If done properly, this framework would not single out food-insecure children. It would offer all kids one healthy meal per day in order to make schools more inclusive. According to Chloe Pineau and colleagues, “Numerous studies have documented the shame, stigma, embarrassment, and social isolation associated with the use of charitable food programs...”. Therefore, it would be best if we could find a way for all children to benefit from receiving a healthy meal at school, to level the playing field.

I would like to share one particular memory that I have from my teaching days that has stayed with me ever since. I was teaching secondary 1, 2 and 3 students at an English high school in Montreal. One day early in December, I was on hall duty. I had to spend the lunch hour supervising a certain hallway in the school. One of my sweetest secondary 1 students, a seventh-grade student, who always sat in the front of the class, always smiled and behaved in the most polite way, was walking toward me. She looked like she was not in a rush to go anywhere in particular. The rest of her classmates were in the cafeteria at the other end of the school. I saw that she was empty-handed and I asked her where her lunch was. To the question, she responded that she did not have a lunch because her parents were saving the food for the Christmas holidays. The Christmas holidays were still a couple of weeks away. I told her to go to the office because the office had food to give to students who were in this kind of situation. I told her that they give snacks to students who forgot their lunch or who did not have any lunch. She was reluctant to go and ask for food and actually said, “No, Miss, I'm okay.” Of course, I brought her with me and assured her that it was okay and that this happens to many kids. I also explained the situation to the office staff so that they would set something up for the next couple of weeks.

However, most kids do not get caught. Most kids are really good at hiding when they do not have a lunch to bring with them to school. On the way back to my classroom, I thought back to whether there were any signs that I could have picked up on. I thought about her grades and realized that she did receive a few failing grades. I had not understood why because she was not coded and she always seemed like she was paying attention. This was a student I taught back in 2016. I can only imagine how many kids are in that same situation today, if not worse.

The current economic context has increased the need for school food programs in Canada. Nearly two million people, including more employed people than ever, used food banks in March 2023 alone, which is a 32% increase from that same month one year prior. One in four Canadian children live in households that experience food insecurity.

Not only is a school food program the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. According to research conducted in countries similar to Canada, every dollar invested in school food yields an estimated social return of $2 to $6. This is the reason I will be supporting Bill C-322.

Emmanuella Lambropoulos

$423,697.00