Councillors were perplexed when a food program for the municipal daycare and out-of-school care snuck its way into the town’s initial budget, without it ever crossing their desks previously.

“I’m dismayed that apparently this has been in the works for a long time, but it came as a surprise to council,” Mayor Richard Ireland said during the Dec. 20 meeting of council. 

The program, which would provide all children attending the programs with a healthy lunch in exchange for higher fees, was removed from the budget during the last council meeting of 2011. 

The motion was made by Coun. Gilbert Wall and was unanimously supported by council.

“I think this is a conversation that needs to be had at the political level, or should have been had at the political level, as it’s a real departure from the services that we are going to offer in our daycare system and also in our out-of-school care,” said Wall. 

“This may be the route that we go in the future, but I think we still have to go through all the processes and have that conversation as a group.”

Kathleen Waxer, director of family and community services, told council that because the program is cost-neutral, with the extra expenses being recovered by user fees, she didn’t think it would need direction from council.

“I would certainly have written a request for direction if I saw it as an item that would impact financially, but our intent has always been to follow the lead of the rest of the province, to provide this service at the parents’ cost,” she told council.

Coun. Brenda Zinck pointed out to Waxer that Jasper’s daycare and out-of-school care are both municipally run and subsidized by taxpayers.

“I do feel it is a change in what goes on in our daycare and I do feel it does need to be out in our community, not just the parents that have their children in there, but what the community thinks about it because it is a community daycare.”

Council’s concern wasn’t just the need for public consultation, but also the liability associated with food services.

“I think there’s a huge potential for issues that could arise both from the health perspective, as well as licensing perspective,” said Coun. Mike Day.

“When you’re in the sale of food there’s a whole different gauntlet of rules that you have to go by and especially storage, there’s so many stronger restrictions in the storage of food and those will indicate higher costs for things,” added Coun. Rico Damota.

The daycare was just renovated, along with the fitness centre at the Jasper Activity Centre. Part of that renovation included the installation of a kitchen, which cost between $60,000 and $80,000. 

The reason for the kitchen was to allow the daycare and out-of-school care to implement the food program.

Waxer told council the driving force behind the program is that it’s considered the best practice by the province. She also noted the benefits to the children who are in daycare and out-of-school care.

“This is an opportunity to ensure that the children in licensed care are receiving adequate nutrition to reach their optimum development, which research tells you that in later years they succeed better in school, require less aids (and) put less pressure on the justice system.”

The budget for the program was $20,300 for the daycare and $7,500 for out-of-school care.

For the daycare, it worked out to approximately $4 per day, per child, which raised some questions from council.

“I find it hard to believe, although it might be entirely true, that you can do this for the minimal amounts that are indicated on a per-child, per-day basis,” said Ireland.

Waxer assured council that the numbers in the budget were in line with other daycares around the province, and reminded them that children eat small portions, so a pot of chicken noodle soup, for example, goes a long way.

Although the lunch program was removed from the 2012 budget, there is still a possibility that it might be implemented in the future. 

Municipal manager George Krefting suggested Waxer create a proposal for a pilot program that doesn’t cost the taxpayer any money and follows all of the necessary regulations.

Such a program could be instated part way through the year, once all of council’s concerns have been addressed.