Canadian food solutions provider Growcer has applauded Prime Minister Mark Carney's historic announcement to make Canada's National School Food Program permanent with $216.6 million in annual funding starting in 2029-30—building on the original $1 billion five-year commitment.
"Prime Minister Carney's commitment to permanent school food funding is transformational for Canadian children and communities," said Corey Ellis, Co-founder and CEO of Growcer. "This represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not just feed students, but to build the infrastructure that enables communities to feed themselves."
Growcer sees the permanent meal program as the ideal vehicle to continue supporting the infrastructure investments that create lasting food sovereignty in schools and communities across Canada.
Communities leading the way to food sovereignty
Growcer's work with schools and communities demonstrates how strategic infrastructure investment creates lasting food sovereignty. The company has become a trusted partner to educational institutions and communities seeking to build local food systems that strengthen health outcomes and economic resilience.
At Altario School in rural Alberta, Growcer worked with the community to establish a student-led vertical farm system that now supplies fresh greens to 50 households through a biweekly subscription program. With the nearest grocery store 50 kilometers away, this infrastructure has become essential to community food security while providing students nutritious food options in the cafeteria and hands-on experience in sustainable food systems.
In High Prairie, Alberta, Growcer partnered with Prairie River Junior High School and the Buchanan Family Foundation on a $315,000 food sovereignty project. Students now manage the entire food production cycle—growing lettuce, herbs, and spinach while developing STEM skills and deep understanding of local food systems. The first harvest launched this month, with students distributing produce directly to their community.
"These aren't just container farms—they're community food sovereignty infrastructure," Ellis emphasized. "We work with schools and communities to build systems that improve nutrition, create educational opportunities, and strengthen local economies."
Making infrastructure accessible
While funding for school meals is essential, Growcer has already proven through successful school partnerships that investing in local food infrastructure helps make school meal programs more sustainable and successful at lower long-term costs.
"Infrastructure transforms how schools approach food security," Ellis noted. "Rather than solely purchasing food, schools that produce food gain educational value, community engagement, and long-term cost savings. Growcer's model allows schools to implement food production infrastructure without large upfront capital investments, which we call 'farm as a service' - making projects fit within operational budgets rather than requiring upfront capital costs."
© Growcer
This financing model has been instrumental in expanding access to food sovereignty infrastructure across underserved communities, proving that infrastructure investment doesn't have to be a barrier—even for schools with limited capital resources.
A call for infrastructure investment
Growcer is encouraging the federal government to maximize the impact of permanent meal program funding by incorporating infrastructure support into the permanent National School Food Program framework, ensuring operational funding provisions that enable schools to maintain and expand food production systems, prioritizing food sovereignty infrastructure in underserved, Indigenous, and remote communities, and supporting innovative financing models that make infrastructure accessible without large capital requirements. The permanent meal program funding creates a strong foundation for the next phase of school food infrastructure development. Strategic infrastructure investments have already demonstrated lasting impact in communities across Canada, and Growcer stands ready to partner with schools, community organizations, and policymakers to maximize this investment through innovative financing that makes food sovereignty accessible to every community.
"This is an extraordinary moment for Canadian food security," said Ellis. "Prime Minister Carney has secured permanent funding for school meals. Growcer has spent years partnering with schools, Indigenous communities, and institutions to prove that food sovereignty infrastructure works."
For more information:
Growcer
Corey Ellis, CEO
www.linkedin.com/in/coreywellis
www.thegrowcer.ca
