Breakfast, Snack & Lunch

Universal Access to Food at School

Universal School Food Programs

What is the Purpose of Universal School Food Programs?

Applying Universal Approaches to Fee-based Programs

Learn how to ensure school food programs are equitable and administered in ways that reduce stigma, maintain dignity and provide autonomy. This includes applying universal approaches to fee-based lunch programs.

Division of Responsibility in Feeding

Staff and volunteers are responsible for:

What food is offered
When it is offered
Where it is offered

Students are responsible for:

Deciding whether or not they will eat
How much they will eat

School food programs are intended to nourish all students, not just address hunger - It is important to provide healthy foods. Learn more about the Division of Responsibility in Feeding from the Ellyn Satter Institute.

Procurement Support: Food Lists

Use these resources to support purchasing for your school food programs. Food lists align with the School Food and Nutrition Policy and Canada's Food Guide.

Armstrong Order Guide for Schools

On the Armstrong (OHA) online ordering portal, searching for foods by order number is much more efficient than searching by name. Use this guide to quickly find order numbers for appropriate foods - just copy and paste the order number into the OHA search function!

Food List for Purchasing Off OH Armstrong Contract from Local Grocery Retailers

This resource is intended to support purchasing decisions when procuring food externally from OHA. The list includes nutritionally appropriate foods that can be purchased from local grocery retailers. The products in the three lists below are also included in this resource.

Cereal & Granola Bars

Crackers & Cheese

Vegetables, Fruit & Yogurt

Menu Planning & Sample Menus

Use these resources to plan and create menus for your school food programs.

Sample Breakfast Menus

This resource provides three sample breakfast menus. All meet nutritional standards, but the nutritional quality does vary between the three, as does the prep work required and cost.

NS Provincial Menu

This resource was developed in 2020 to support schools to operate healthy, safe school food programs during Covid-19. While many Public Health restrictions are no longer applicable, the breakfast, lunch and snack menu options in this resource are still appropriate.