October 11, 2000

Key Messages

School-based Feeding Programs: A good choice for children?

1. School meal programs don’t solve child hunger and poor nutrition.
- Although well-meaning, school meal programs only feed children for about half the year. There has been little research on the nutritional value of school meals. And in some cases school feeding programs increase stigma and dependency on handouts for poor children and their families.

2. If we really want to solve child hunger, we need to develop a much broader response than school meal programs.
- School feeding programs have some positive effects such as improving children’s social skills and helping time-pressed families. But we need to do more if we want to eliminate child hunger. For example, families on social assistance need better incomes so they can afford to buy adequate food for their kids.

3. More research should be done on the effects of school meal programs before investing further in them.
- There has been very little systematic research on the effects of school meal programs on children and their families. Before investing further in such programs, better research should be done. This would help us to know for example, how much nutrition such programs provide, and how much of children’s dietary needs they actually fill.

For more information, contact David Hay (250) 370-7566.
Email: [email protected]

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