Comox Valley Schools says it has made major progress expanding access to nutritious school meals through its Feeding Futures School Food Program.

The district reports the program now reaches nearly half of all students.

Prior to January of 2025, about 19 percent of students had access to a universal, low- or no-barrier lunch program.

That number has since increased to 44 percent and is expected to reach 48 percent with additional programs launching in 2026.

District officials say that level of access exceeds initial provincial targets and places Comox Valley among leading school districts in British Columbia for universal school food programming.

Between September and November of 2025, more than 67-thousand lunches were served through Feeding Futures-supported programs across the district.

While not all meals were fully subsidized, all were delivered through universal models designed to reduce stigma, remove barriers, and provide consistent access to food.

Family contributions covered roughly 45 to 75-percent of meal costs, depending on the program model.

Cost-recovery universal programs, delivered in partnership with Community School Societies, accounted for nearly 19-thousand lunches during that three-month period.

Fully universal programs, offering daily meals to all students with no cost recovery, provided just over six thousand additional lunches.

The largest increase came from new pay-what-you-can universal programs, which served nearly 38 thousand lunches in just three months.

As of December 2025, universal food access is available at 12 schools within the district, with two more programs planned for early 2026.

Funding for the program includes approximately $1.14 million per year through British Columbia’s Feeding Futures initiative, part of a $214 million, three-year provincial investment. Additional funding of more than $340 thousand is coming from the federal National School Food Program for the 2025–26 school year.

Comox Valley Schools say the work underway has also sparked interest from other school districts looking to learn more about how the program was designed and implemented, as the district continues to focus on expanding equitable access to food to support student well-being and learning success.

To learn more, visit Comox Valley Schools.