Hundreds of thousands of more children will have access to healthy food in schools thanks to a huge investment from the federal government.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced in Ontario, Monday, that Ottawa will spend $1 billion over 5 years on a National School Food Program.

The announcement is as part of the upcoming federal budget which will be tabled in the House of Commons, April 16.

It means over 400,000 more children will have meals in school every year, across the country, in addition to those already benefitting from existing programs.

According to the Prime Minister’s office, nearly 1 in 4 children in Canada do not get enough food.

Trudeau says when children eat better, they do better in school.

“When a kid walks up before class and says, ‘I’m hungry’, that means we all have more work to do as a school community…as a country…as a world.  We want everyone to be able to eat well so they can reach their full potential.”

Freeland says it’s peace of mind for parents across Canada who are struggling with the high cost of living, knowing their kids have healthy food and are well taken care of.

“For kids, it means not being hungry at school, because when you’re hungry, it’s really, really hard to learn.”

Freeland says they hope to get started as early as the 2024/25 school year.