Kamloops-area schools in line for more than $300K from Ottawa for food programs

Feds help to feed students

Photo: The Canadian Press

More than $300,000 in funding has been earmarked for the Kamloops-Thompson school district to support schools food programs as part of a new federal program.

Earlier this month, the federal government announced an agreement with B.C. to provide an additional $39.4 million over three years for schools and districts to expand and improve school food programs through its national school food program.

SD73 principal of safe and caring schools Cory Carmichael told the board of education last week that local schools will receive approximately $302,000 in federal dollars.

“Early days, so we’re still expecting more details around what that looks like,” he said.

“We do know that it is not tied solely to food, so it can support infrastructure, plans and needs as they come up.”

The federal government said the new funding will complement B.C.’s Feeding Futures fund, for which SD73 received $1.9 million from for the 2024-25 school year.

Each of the 49 schools in SD73 have some form of breakfast, lunch, snack or food top-up for students, and 35 have both breakfast and lunch services.