TORONTO, October 6, 2026 – Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who is running for re-election, announced on October 5 that if re-elected, she would further expand Toronto’s school meal program to provide free lunches for students. Her campaign said that once fully implemented, the plan could save families up to about $1,800 per student each year in food costs, while also reducing the time parents spend preparing lunches each day.
Toronto’s free school meal program has already expanded to all public schools in the city, allowing about 330,000 students to receive at least one morning or midday snack at school. Chow is proposing to build on the existing service by gradually increasing full lunch offerings and using the City’s bulk purchasing power to reduce food procurement costs.
Chow said that as grocery prices continue to rise, preparing lunch for children every day has become a regular household expense for many families. She said she hopes that by expanding school meal services, families can reduce food costs while students have access to reliable meals during the school day.
She said she and the late Toronto city councillor and federal NDP leader Jack Layton began advocating for school meal programs in the 1990s, with the goal of ensuring students from different family backgrounds could access food at school.
According to the plan, free lunches would not be introduced at all schools across the city at the same time. Instead, the program would be rolled out in phases. The funding model would continue to follow the existing school meal program, with costs shared among the City, the provincial government, the federal government and private donations.
Chow’s campaign said that during her term as mayor, Toronto has expanded school meal services to all schools in the city while also investing in related meal infrastructure. As food preparation, transportation and delivery have scaled up, the program has also created about 250 local jobs.
The school meal program has also become one of Toronto’s key public services in addressing child food security and family cost-of-living pressures. In addition to helping families facing food cost challenges, a universal meal model allows students to participate together without household income screening, reducing the sense of difference that can come when free meals are targeted only to certain low-income students.
Chow said that improving the school meal program would not only help families lower expenses, but also help students better focus in class.
However, the proposal released so far has not listed when free lunches would begin at individual schools, nor has it provided the total annual cost once the plan is fully implemented. According to Chow’s campaign, the program would continue to rely on funding from all three levels of government and private donations, and would expand in phases.
If implemented, Toronto’s existing school meal service would move beyond its current focus on morning and midday snacks to include full lunches. For families with multiple school-aged children, actual savings would depend on the scope of the rollout and student participation.
As Toronto’s October 26 municipal election approaches, food prices, children’s services and the cost of living for families have also become key issues for candidates seeking voter support.
（LJI by Yuanyuan）
