Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan's Child Nutrition Program has run since 1990, extended to school divisions in 2009-10, and provided 6.5 million meals in 2024-25 alone.
Official program
Child Nutrition Program
Delivered by the Government of Saskatchewan in partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, grants are available to school divisions and community-based organizations (CBOs) offering no-cost food and food-education programming to school-aged children.
How it works
Programs may include breakfast, lunch, and/or snack offerings plus food-skills education like cooking classes. Delivery is decentralized to individual school divisions and CBOs, so families should contact their local school division for specifics on what runs at their school.
Saskatchewan's own investment was $2.7 million in 2024-25; the federal National School Food Program adds a further $6.4 million for 2025-26, distributed to school divisions.
Benefits for kids
Canadian research indicates school food programs meaningfully improve student attendance, concentration, and academic performance, with the largest gains for children in food-insecure households — directly relevant given Saskatchewan has one of the highest provincial child food-insecurity rates in the country.
Local facts
- 36.2% of children in Saskatchewan were living in food-insecure households in 2025 — the second-highest rate among the provinces. (Source: PROOF, University of Toronto (2025 data))
- Saskatchewan received an "F" grade for food insecurity in the 2026 Poverty Report Card, with 27.1% of children living in poverty — the highest child poverty rate among the provinces. (Source: Food Banks Canada Poverty Report Card, via paNOW)