Although some families are opting out of the provincial school lunch program because of the quality of the food, the government says they are still working on it.
Education Minister Brendan Maguire would not say out right that they plan to improve the program.
“What I’ll say is that we’re continuously working on it. Obviously it’s fluid, and we want to make sure that if there are things, once we get the numbers, we see there are certain things that are not working, then we’ll adjust to it,” said Maguire.
More than 2 million meals have been served since the program started in the fall, he said.
Maguire said he tries the meals every day, when his kids bring home leftovers. He said they are little kids, so they don’t eat a lot.
He said enjoys the food, but he is not a picky eater. He added that he could put the same food in front of his children and they would not all necessarily like it.
“We’re not inflexible, so if we see things that don’t work, then we’ll obviously adjust to it.”
NDP MLA Sue LeBlanc said the fact that a school lunch program exists is a success, and she said she looks forward to what it will look like when it’s more refined.
Liberal leader Derek Mombourquette said he’s concerned about the amount of waste created by the program, and he suggests the government look at offering more on the menu.
Government not tracking food waste
“I think that they should be tracking not only how many meals they’re producing, but the waste, because really that those statistics help make the choices around what food selections should be in place,” said Maguire.
Maguire originally said on Thursday that his department would be able to provide stats on food waste.
But a spokesperson said they ask schools to report any concerns about food waste to the Regional School Food Lead.
“The Department is exploring options to pilot a waste tracking system in future phases of the program,” the statement read.
They wanted to design the lunch program menus so that, when some of the food is not eaten, it could be repurposed in other meals.
They also hope to create standardized recycling containers in the next phase of the program.
However, since the program launched in October, the department said the amount of people ordering has stayed relatively the same, with about 50 per cent of eligible students ordering lunches.
