Serving up healthy meals for school kids

Plus, a prison alternative for Indigenous inmates and the solar eclipse [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Bring out the candles and save your work — an early spring storm [could bring power outages to the GTA this week](. Here’s the latest on Trudeau’s long-promised national school food program, a lifeline for Indigenous inmates and why Toronto will miss out on the total solar eclipse. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Chris Young federal politics [Justin Trudeau announces national school food program amid rising grocery prices]( Ottawa has unveiled a long-promised national school food program, pledging $1 billion over five years toward feeding kids as grocery prices continue to balloon, Raisa Patel and Omar Mosleh report. The measure, expected to be laid out in the Liberals’ April 16 budget, is estimated to supply healthy meals to 400,000 kids not being served by existing school programs — what local educators and advocates say is both overdue and a huge relief. The move would fulfil a 2021 campaign promise to work with provinces and territories to smooth over gaps in Canada’s myriad school breakfast and lunch plans. [Take a look at the details](. - Context: The announcement comes as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s two-week pre-game show to [highlight major themes and tease out features of the coming federal budget](. - Why it matters: A March update from the Toronto District School Board found 14 per cent of kids said they sometimes, often or always feel hungry because of food shortages at home. Experts say the situation has only gotten worse in line with the cost of living crisis. Toronto Star File Photo incarceration [This prison alternative slashes recidivism — why isn’t Canada investing in more of them?]( Tania Ross spent 20 years of her life in federal prisons, after being jailed at 19 following a life sentence for second-degree murder. Eleven years after entering the maximum-security Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary, Ross decided it was time to change her life, Joy SpearChief-Morris reports. She found Indigenous Elders who helped her reconnect with her culture — that’s when Ross said she began to heal. At 35, Ross was transferred to an Indigenous-run healing lodge in Edmonton and she went on to serve out her parole near another healing lodge in Winnipeg. Now a motivational speaker working with at-risk youth, Ross credits the healing lodges with saving her life. [Why isn’t Canada building more of them?]( - By the numbers: Data show healing lodges are more effective at preventing repeat offences — Indigenous offenders had a seven per cent recidivism rate over five years after attending healing lodges, versus an almost 19 per cent rate after sentences served in traditional federal institutions. - Go deeper: There are only 10 healing lodges in Canada — none in Ontario, the Atlantic or northern regions. There is only enough space in existing lodges for nine per cent of federally incarcerated Indigenous inmates. - The Star’s take: Something is very wrong with our system’s treatment of Indigenous people — [and has been for a very long time](. TNS Photo solar eclipse [Here’s why trying to watch the total solar eclipse from Toronto will have you chasing shadows]( Sarah Gallagher remembers her first total solar eclipse in 2017 as an “awe-inspiring experience.” She was in Idaho and recalled the day got “very dark very quickly.” The warm weather cooled and, for a few brief minutes, stars were visible in the late-morning sky. She tells me her young kids felt it too: “They just went ‘THIS IS AWESOME!’” But while cities like Niagara and Hamilton will share in the experience during next Monday’s total eclipse, Toronto will get a “dramatically different” view — even though the moon is projected to block up to 99.9 per cent of the sun. [Here’s why you might want to consider a day trip for the event](. - What we know: Niagara has declared a state of emergency and is expecting a million visitors on eclipse day. If you don’t feel like braving the crowds, [these Ontario locales offer similar views of the total eclipse](. - Don’t forget: It’s never safe to look at a partial eclipse (like what we’re getting here in Toronto) without proper eye protection. [Here’s where you can get solar eclipse glasses for free](. [Calendar icon] Are our messages a little late for you lately? Emails from the Star are taking longer than normal to arrive to Gmail and Hotmail inboxes after we send them. That's a problem we're solving now, but we're sorry for keeping you waiting. WHAT ELSE The national price on pollution rose by $15 per tonne on Monday. [Here’s what that means for your wallet](. Was Const. Northrup’s death a murder? [Here’s what the jury heard — and what’s still to come](. Doug Ford and his attorney general are [refusing to meet with Ontario legal groups over the “like-minded judges” controversy](. As the Israeli military withdraws from its raid on Shifa Hospital, [accounts from military and witnesses differ wildly](. Ontario is getting serious about cracking down on illicit pot shops — [but one shop feels unfairly targeted](. [An aid group says an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed at least seven of its workers](. “It was so loud.” Rosedale has been left reeling after a [daylight shooting that sent one person to hospital](. Luxury home sales have surged by up to 50 per cent [as buyers migrate away from Ontario’s high-priced market](. [Donald Trump’s net worth dropped $1 billion]( as revenue from his social media firm sunk. Invaders from underground are coming in “cicada-geddon.” [It’s the biggest bug emergence in centuries](. The Blue Jays’ engine starts with George Springer. [A peek under the hood reveals why](. Pet care costs have skyrocketed. [Here’s how smart pet owners are spending less](. POV Emily Fagan/The Star [The city’s plan for dangerous dog attacks is fatally flawed. Spending half a million dollars won’t fix it.]( CLOSE-UP Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo KYIV: A couple holding hands looks at the Memory Wall, a monument commemorating fallen Ukrainian soldiers, in the embattled nation’s capital. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_211488). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](