Liberals pledge free universal school breakfast program
Advocate calls promise ‘ambitious’ but cautions that program ‘is not a simple thing to implement’
New Brunswick Liberals are promising to establish a free, universal breakfast program in all provincial schools in time for the start of school a year from now.
Leader Susan Holt said the $27.4-million-a-year program will also support a pay-what-you-can lunch program.
"It's going to help students learn and thrive. It's going to help teachers deliver better, and it's going to make life more affordable for families in New Brunswick," Holt said at a news conference, the second in a week where she unveiled a pre-campaign commitment.
The program will be available for all students, not just those in need, and Holt says a Liberal government would have it up and running across the province by September 2025.
Fredericton-York Liberal candidate Tanya Whitney, a former school principal, said a targeted program would risk stigmatizing the students using it, whereas a universal program would not.
"It's more equitable and people find themselves at the same space, having the same school experience, with all the other children," she said.
Jill Van Horne, the network director of the group Food For All New Brunswick, which supports food programs across the province, called the Liberal plan "ambitious" because it would cover both breakfast and lunch.
"It's huge. School food, on its surface, sounds simple but there's a lot that goes into that. It requires food sourcing, it requires people power, it requires time and it's not just a simple thing to implement."
Holt said her program would rely on "amazing partners," such as community groups already providing meals in some provincial schools.
The province would take a more direct role in communities where no such group is available, she said.
Holt and Whitney said students who are hungry at school experience stress and anxiety that often lead to poor academic results and absenteeism.
The $27.4 million cost of the program does not account for potential funding from the federal government that would be available if the province signed an agreement with Ottawa.
Holt said if such a deal happens it would reduce the provincial cost.
But the federal program, announced in April, targets only 400,000 students nationwide — "beyond those served by existing school food programs," according to a press release.
The federal program is not universal but is meant as "a safety net for the kids who need this support the most," said the April release.
Van Horne pointed out the current PC government put $2 million into making fresh food available to 45,000 students in 135 schools last year, and the Liberal promise is another positive step.
"We're excited to see that there is value being placed behind this kind of service or offering, and I hope to see something similar comes from other parties as well," she said.
The federal program creates "a lot of opportunity for provinces to have some support to bolster this kind of thing," she said.
In an emailed statement from the PC party, Education Minister Bill Hogan said Holt's promise is "sadly another typical Liberal promise that is designed to buy votes," but won't accomplish much.
He said pay-what-you-can programs, like the lunch program the Liberals are offering, often run out of money.
"The PCNB government has worked with schools and various charities to make sure that each school has a food program in place," he said.
"With new federal funding that is available, we hope to be able to expand that in a fiscally responsible manner."
Green Leader David Coon wouldn't comment directly on the Liberal proposal but pointed out his party has been calling for a universal school breakfast and lunch program for years.
"This has been a recurring theme for us," Coon said, explaining that a Green government would pay for its program by cutting subsidies to large forestry corporations.
Holt said $9 million of her projected cost would be for the breakfast program and $18 million would be for the lunches.
The Liberal leader committed to delivering balanced budgets every year if she wins the Oct. 21 election.
She said she was not worried that a $27.6-million deficit that the Progressive Conservative government is projecting for this fiscal year would make the program unaffordable.
Four straight PC budgets underestimated revenue figures and ended up with larger surpluses than expected, she said, predicting the same thing will happen this year.
"We don't trust their figures," she said.
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