Student Nutrition Programs

It’s simple: when children are hungry, they can’t focus, and if they can’t focus, they can’t learn. That’s why 827 school and community-based Student Nutrition Programs (SNPs) provide over 218,000 nutritious meals every school day. Here, students eat a healthy breakfast, lunch, or a snack so that they can focus on learning rather than hunger. One in every four children in Toronto lives in poverty and 40% of all children come to school hungry each day. It can be as high as 68% in our most at-risk communities.

Research shows that when children have enough to eat, they feel energized, concentrate better in class and perform better in school. Also, school attendance increases, not surprising as many students told us that they made it to school because they knew that they could get a nutritious breakfast. Funding comes from parent contributions, individual and corporate donations, the City of Toronto and the Government of Ontario. It is our goal to ensure that no child begins the school day hungry. If you’d like to help, please consider a donation to Student Nutrition Programs.

Nutrition Pantry Program

In September 2020, when schools reopened after the first wave of COVID-19 closures, we noticed that some SNPs were unable to operate, and so, we looked for a way to support them. As well, high school students were not learning in-class full time, and had much less access to their SNPs. In response to the increased need, we piloted our Nutrition Pantry (NP) program, to deliver food directly to schools.

After a successful pilot, the NP program continues to grow. We created a Central Pantry which we stock with shelf stable foods that, with the help of TDSB Logistics Services and our grocery partners, we deliver out to elementary schools. This food, along with additional fresh, perishable items sent directly to schools, provides nutritional support to children, at no cost. For secondary students, schools set up Nutrition Pantries, stocked with food provided by TFSS. Here, students are able to choose a week’s worth of food to take home – things like tuna, soup, canned fruit, and cereal – to ensure they have access to food, when they need it. Last year, the NP program supplied 723,154 meals, providing nourishing food to over 39,000 students in 123 schools, across Toronto.

The Impact

”Thank you for allowing our son to participate in the Nutrition Pantry at school. This is a big help for him. My husband is off of work due to health problems, and my job has cut down my hours because of COVID and this kind of help from school is helping us sustain our child’s needs.” – Parent

A middle school student’s family could not afford to feed him breakfast. He was arriving at school tired and frustrated which resulted in anger management issues and he often cut classes. Once this student started to eat breakfast and have snacks at his school’s Student Nutrition Program, his attitude changed dramatically, he paid attention in class, and soon was no longer spending time in detention.

An elementary school student’s single mother fell ill and was unable to provide her children with food each morning. The student and her siblings were arriving at school hungry and without snacks to keep their energy up during the day. With the help of their school’s Student Nutrition Program, the student and her siblings not only received the nutrition they needed to get through the school day but also learned how to prepare healthy food.

The Research

The Facts

Student Nutrition Program Fact Sheet (PDF)

Nutrition Pantry Program Fact Sheet (PDF)