The Collectif québécois of the Coalition for healthy School Food is the initiative of a group of organizations, who mobilized during the last provincial elections in 2017 to take action to put school food on the agenda. In 2019, this same core group of organization representatives, demonstrating leadership and inspired by a common vision, took the initiative to form the Collectif québécois to advocate for investments by Quebec's provincial and local governments in a cost-share universal healthy school food program. Building on existing programs across the country, all schools will eventually serve a healthy meal and/or snack to students at little or no cost. These programs will include food education and will serve local, culturally appropriate and environmentally responsible foods whenever possible.

The Collectif québécois now includes more than 100 non-profit organizations, all of which share the common vision of providing children, regardless of their economic situation, with the healthy food they need to learn and grow during their school day. Like more than 330 organizations across Canada that are members of the Coalition for Healthy School Food (CHSF), the members of the Collectif québécois share the values outlined in the guiding principles established by the CHSF. Click here to become a member, it's easy and free! Non-profit organizations and government agencies can also support our efforts by becoming endorsers.






School food programs in Quebec

In Quebec, some School Service Centres support one or more schools in the implementation of a school food program, but not all. Most programs operated by organizations target only the most disadvantaged schools. These programs are organized at the school through community-based organizations and often rely on parents, volunteers and others in the school community to develop, manage and fund the program. This patchwork of programs does not meet the needs of all students for access to healthy and nutritious food. In addition, the programs are unstable because they rely on short-term funding, which is often determined by the poverty index of a neighbourhood (Montreal) or of the school and can therefore be withdrawn when the index declines, often due to gentrification. Schools with a low poverty rating receive very little funding, which does not allow them to provide programs that are accessible to all students. To learn more about the school food sector (food services outside of programs), see the school food sector overview on the Commun'assiette web portal.

The Collectif québécois brings together stakeholders from various regions and sectors across the province to dialogue, share resources and collaborate on collective advocacy, research and pilot projects. See our mandate for more details and to learn about our structure.

For more information, contact Danie Martin, danie@foodsecurecanada.org, Coordinator of the Collectif québécois