Two million meals have now been served through the province’s school lunch program, but some are getting wasted.
Education Minister Brendan Maguire told reporters, Thursday afternoon, the province is working with providers on how to get around that.
“We’re constantly tweaking and obviously looking to expand. But we do know there is some waste going on. I can tell you in my house there’s none…because the kids bring it home and I eat it.”
Maguire says his department will look at what menu options are provided and see what is working but it can be hard to know, considering the number of kids served.
“It’s very difficult to satisfy all those children, but we’re doing our best to make sure we have healthy, appealing meals. We’re always assessing and if something’s not working on a menu, and we see clear evidence that it’s not working, then we’ll remove it from the menu.”
Healthy and delicious
The school lunch program kicked off in the fall.
Former Education Minister, Becky Druhan told our newsroom in the spring, the main goal was healthy and delicious food -what was offered would vary, depending on the school.
“There will be different models from school to school. Some schools may produce food within the school, some may contract with external vendors…and so that will be determined on a school-by-school basis, based on resources.”
Druhan said Taco Tuesday was a success on the first day.
Expanding
The program will continue to grow until it reaches all 373 schools and the more than 130,000 students across the province.
It started with schools that have elementary grades and will continue to expand over the next few years.
