HOME AND SCHOOL: Healthy food for P.E.I. schools | The Chronicle Herald

HOME AND SCHOOL: Healthy food for P.E.I. schools | The Chronicle Herald

The P.E.I. Home and School Federation is continuing to advocate for healthy, affordable food being served in schools.

School food now has a new menu and an easier ordering system. 

P.E.I.’s school food team worked hard to launch the lunch program provincewide in September 2020. Throughout the fall, the team received feedback about the meals from parents and students and adapted the menu, adding 13 new items. The scalability of items has been improved to increase consistency for all schools and appeal to students. 

The online ordering platform has also been streamlined making it easier to order meals for your family and others. 

Did you know you can give a lunch to a student now? This program will continue to grow and improve as parents, students, teachers, vendors and other stakeholders participate and provide feedback. 

From day one, the healthy school lunch program has made a difference for all students, including those who may not have a daily healthy lunch. One in five children in Prince Edward Island live in households affected by some level of food insecurity, and 79 per cent of food insecure households were reliant on wages or salaries from employment. This is the highest rate in Canada. Review the Household Food Insecurity in Canada report at nutritionalsciences.lamp.utoronto.ca.

The federation passed a resolution supporting elected school boards in 2018 requesting the ministry of education and cabinet to review the Education Act and designate decision-making authority regarding education matters to an elected board of school trustees, one for each family of schools, with school board elections coinciding with provincial government elections. 

Elected school board models consultation is now open. Islanders are invited to take part by providing input on the best elected school board model for English language schools in Prince Edward Island. The province is committed to reinstating school boards that have elected representatives, which will encourage further collaboration and communication between school boards, government and community stakeholders. Submit ideas online through the Elected School Board Model Consultations webpage. 

Starting Jan. 11, Islanders will also have the option to complete an online survey. Online consultations will be open until March 11. 

Moving to an elected school board model and implementing a school food program for all children are federation policies and the government’s campaign promises.

To address gaps in the education system, resolutions are developed about issues that will affect positive change for all students’ benefit. Parents and teachers are asked to discuss school system issues around the local Home and School meeting table for the purpose of teaming up to write resolutions. Discuss the issues impacting student learning, student wellness and safety, review resolutions at peihsf.ca and ask the federation for help with writing resolutions. Use the new Fillable Resolution Form. The deadline to submit resolutions is Jan. 31.

Appreciating teachers and school staff who change the lives of hundreds of children every day, is important, especially during this pandemic when we recognize how they inspire and make a difference in students’ well-being and life-long success. Home and Schools are encouraged to thank educators, custodians, school admimistration assistants, etc. during School Staff Appreciation Week, Feb. 14-21. Remember to keep plans simple.

Heather Mullen, president of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, lives in Lot 38, Canavoy, with her husband and two children, who attend Mount Stewart Consolidated School and Birchwood Intermediate School. Her column appears monthly in The Guardian during the school year. She welcomes comments from readers and information from the column. She can be reached at 902-620-3186.

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