In June 2017, New Westminster Schools (known as SD40) passed a motion with the aim of nurturing a school district where "no child is hungry and every child eats healthy" (Board of Education motion, June 2017) . To meet this goal, SD40 partnered with the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) to develop a plan to address documented concerns related to inequitable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate, tasty foods that would be feasible and cost-effective for SD40 schools across the district. SD40

more »

... hen hired a School Nutrition Coordinator (in September 2018) partnered with a private caterer (Ready Maid Meals) to develop a program called Fuel Up! to provide parents with the option to order school lunches through an online ordering system. In February 2019, Fuel Up! was launched at 3 schools with pre-existing lunch programs. Fifty cents from each full-priced entrée was allocated to support a subsidy program wherein families with significant financial need could apply to receive a full or partial subsidy. Applying for subsidies included providing a brief statement of financial or other needs that reduced their family's ability to provide a healthy meal for their child(ren). In 2018, SD40 and collaborators from FHA partnered with a research team from the University of British Columbia to better understand the process of implementing this program, and to provide insight into the experiences of students and parents during the initial winter/spring 2019 rollout of the program.