NDP pledge seems short on details

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/06/2023 (1086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In an announcement made over the weekend during a fundraising dinner, NDP Leader Wab Kinew promised to create what he called a “universal” school nutrition program in Manitoba should his party win government in October.

Through Manitoba’s community school program that has been around since 2005, the province currently supports 31 schools throughout the province with daily meal programs for students — including George Fitton School and École New Era School in Brandon.

As part of his announcement, Kinew further promised to expand this program to all 690 schools in Manitoba — whether students in those schools need the program or not — to the tune of $30 million annually.

“This is not something we can leave to chance. This is not something we can leave to charity. This is the role of government,” Kinew said.

Kinew is not wrong in suggesting that the need exists in our classrooms. If ever there was a question of whether a breakfast program was necessary in Manitoba schools, we merely have to look at the numbers to show that the need is real.

For example, the Brandon Food for Thought program announced in March 2023 that it had given 81,535 meals to students in our region during the current school year — an increase of more than 14,000 meals from the same time the previous year.

The same news release also showed that in the first two months of 2023, FFT had provided 13,626 meals for January of this year and 15,786 meals for students in February.

Food for Thought is a school-based nutrition program that operates within the Brandon School Division. Currently, there are four schools participating in the program for the 2022-23 school year, including Betty Gibson, George Fitton, King George and Meadows schools, with another 15 schools involved in the snack program.

The program is not without its partners. In 2020, Samaritan House received $800,000, part of a $2.5-million provincial investment in the Home Nutrition and Learning pilot program meant to provide nutritious breakfasts, along with recipes and learning activities to families. Through the Food for Thought program, school social workers provided Samaritan House with names and contact information of students and their parents whom they believed would benefit.

“People who are wanting to be involved, ideally there would be a school connection or a food-hamper connection, and we’ll work from those and spread out from there,” the food bank co-ordinator told the Sun at the time. “That’s how you know that it’s going to the people who are low income and most vulnerable.”

For the part, however, Food for Thought operates outside provincial funding and takes in large, medium and small donations from organizations like the True North Youth Foundation, McCain Foods, Maple Leaf, United Way Brandon and District, Saputo, the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba, the school division, CANDO Rail and Terminals, the City of Brandon and the Brandon Area Community Foundation, to name a few. And there are dozens of other large donations from private companies and private individuals who help keep the program operating.

While it’s unfortunate that such a program is necessary, we are glad to see that FFT appears to be highly successful in not only helping so many students enter the classroom able to focus on their school work and not their empty stomachs, but also in bringing together so many various partners for a good and worthy cause.

Last February, the Poverty and Education Task Force released its final report, offering nine recommendations to the provincial government — and at the top of the list was food security and nutrition.

In particular, the report called on the province to review in-school meal programs and partnerships to improve access and “ensure equitable distribution of funding and resources” by prioritizing students living in poverty and schools and communities in high poverty areas. “Equitable” does not necessarily mean that a universal program is necessary — but rather that the existing program should be better targeted and better funded.

According to the CBC report, the province has already pledged to consider expanding the program to 22 other schools in the province as a result of the provincial task force findings. This may actually be the correct action — giving greater priority to schools and students who are in greater need.

We applaud Mr. Kinew for offering up a true election plank that he can defend and hone in the coming months in advance of October’s election. But as Brandon University political scientist Kelly Saunders stated this week, the New Democrats are trying to use this as a wedge issue.

“It’s such a win-win for the NDP,” she said. “How do you criticize feeding hungry kids?”

You do so by fairly pointing out that many specifics of the NDP plank have yet to be made public. Are kids whose families can afford to have breakfast at home eligible to be part of the program? Or is that not what Kinew meant by “universal?”

And if they’re adding $30 million per year to provincial expenses, what does that do to Kinew’s pledge to balance the budget in his first term?

There’s a long way to go before election day, and a lot of promises yet to come.