Prince Albert Catholic Division Launches New School Food Initiative

The Prince Albert Catholic School Division is taking significant steps to address food insecurity among its students by engaging in a new three-year National School Food Program (NSFP). The board of education voted to initiate this program during a recent meeting, marking a proactive approach to enhance food options for children in the division.

Education Director Lorel Trumier emphasized the urgency of addressing food security. “Food security is always something that’s top of mind in our world around us,” she stated. “We do know more children have a shortage of food, or lack of food.” This initiative comes as both the provincial and federal governments have reached an agreement on the NSFP, which will complement existing efforts under the Child Nutrition Development Program.

On August 25, 2024, the division was informed that it would receive $98,385 from the NSFP. Trumier explained that this funding is part of an agreement designed to enhance food programming within the division. “There was a federal provincial agreement that’s been struck and what it meant is additional dollars to support and enhance food options and programming in our school division,” she noted.

While the division is still in the early stages of planning how to implement this funding, Trumier acknowledged the pressing nature of the issue. “Food security is a problem for our children, and so we want to serve as many children as we can with the dollars that we have,” she said. The funding will alleviate some financial pressure on the division’s operational budget, allowing more resources to be devoted to teaching and learning.

Allocations for the new program are based on projected enrolments for the 2025-2026 school year. The $98,000 allocation is an estimate, subject to change once enrolments are finalized on September 30. A funding agreement outlining specific criteria for the use of these funds will be issued in September.

In addition to the NSFP, the division is set to receive a $95,000 Child Nutrition Grant. This grant, along with a $40,000 partnership with the Catholic Education Fund, will bolster the division’s efforts to improve food infrastructure in schools. A recent announcement revealed that the division will also receive $40,731 in grant funding for this purpose.

Trumier provided further updates regarding the Child Nutrition Grant, which is expected to increase funding for the upcoming school year. “With the child nutrition programming that we’ve been receiving, this year we have another $2,000 over what we had received last year, which is very positive because of the growing costs of food,” she remarked.

The division will also benefit from an increase of $2,766 in funding from the existing provincial Child Nutrition Fund, bringing the total to $94,971 for the upcoming school year. These financial boosts are aimed at ensuring that no child goes hungry, reflecting a commitment to the well-being of students in the Prince Albert area.

As the Prince Albert Catholic School Division moves forward with these initiatives, the focus remains on ensuring food security for all students, reinforcing the importance of proper nutrition in supporting educational success.