Students at Alberni District Secondary School in Port Alberni can now count on a free lunch and snacks each day. The school’s School Meal Program, launched in the fall of 2024 and continuing into this school year, is open to every student who wants to participate. Families simply need to contact the school to sign up, and no child is turned away.
The program is run by School District 70 Pacific Rim and Nourish Cowichan Society, a food charity that has delivered meals to schools on Vancouver Island for nearly a decade. Meals are prepared at a central kitchen at E.J. Dunn Elementary School in Port Alberni under the direction of Chef Ryan Pike. Food is then delivered to schools in Port Alberni and Ucluelet.
Last year, more than 21 percent of students in the district used a school meal program, a jump of about 10 percent from the year before. School District 70 says it saw a 30 percent increase in the number of students accessing food programs in 2024 compared to the previous year. Rising food costs and concerns about food security are behind the growing need.
Pam Craig, chair of the district’s board of education, says the district works alongside Nuu-chah-nulth Nations and the Métis Nation of B.C. to serve young people in the Alberni-Clayoquot region. The meal program is funded by B.C.’s Feeding Futures initiative, Canada’s National School Food Program, and local community donations that stay entirely in the district.
More information about signing up for meals is available on the Alberni District Secondary School website.
