Students rally as breakfast programs cut in Hamilton and Niagara amidst rising costs [Video]

When the 8 a.m. bell rings at Hamilton’s Westdale Secondary School, too many students are hungry, says Grade 10 student Tomi Olagunju.

Since 2015, students who didn’t have enough time for a morning meal or enough food to eat at home could grab a free bite from the school’s nutrition program. The program served 40,000 meals last year alone, or around 100 students daily, according to Olagunju and Kleri Venizelos, a teacher and nutrition program co-ordinator. 

But no more. 

In February, Hamilton Tastebuds, the organization that delivers school nutrition programs in the city, cancelled Westdale’s breakfast program as part of an effort to save money and extend the life of other struggling programs. 

“For so many students, [Westdale’s breakfast program was] their only source of nutrition,” Olagunju told CBC Hamilton. 

School nutrition program operators in Hamilton and Niagara, including Tastebuds, tell CBC Hamilton that’s just one instance of a program cutback. 

They say …