Up until April 2024, Canada was the only G7 country without a national school food program; we ranked 37th out of the 41 wealthiest countries in children’s access to healthy food. School food programs not only provide healthy, nutritious food to children, but they also teach healthy habits, improve academic performance and mental health, support local economies and create jobs, and save families thousands every year. Dr. Amberley Ruetz worked with policy-makers and civil society to share information on school food programming, ultimately contributing to the government’s decision to allocate $1 billion over five years to a National School Food Program in Budget 2024. Despite this incredible success, multiple levels of government must still negotiate an equitable and successful rollout of the program to benefit children across the country. Amberley Ruetz continues to gather necessary information on how to administer and scale up school food programs to maximize their benefit to Canadians.