La Cantine dans les écoles’s “pay what you can” system: how does it work?

At La Cantine pour tous, we believe that every child deserves a hot, healthy meal, regardless of their family’s income. That’s why we offer a “pay what you can” system for our La Cantine dans les écoles program, with no proof or conditions required.

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A program to feed children across Quebec

Our La Cantine dans les écoles program offers hot school meals delivered directly to Quebec elementary school.
During the 2026–2027 school year, more than 4,000,000 students were served in over 260 schools across 14 regions of Quebec.

Find out more about the program

Why a “pay what you can” system?

Above all, we want to ensure that the program is accessible, so that all children can have enough to eat, even when budgets are tight.

The “pay what you can” system allows you to:

families to pay the amount they can for each meal, without having to justify themselves.
students to have access to healthy meals, so they can learn on a full stomach.

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“Without the ‘pay what you can’ system, I wouldn’t have been able to... La Cantine pour tous gives me a chance to get food for my kids. If I had to make their lunches myself, I wouldn’t be able to provide meals this good. It’s hard to get a full grocery haul, even with food banks. I’m on my own with three kids.”
Anonymous parent

Who can benefit?

The “pay what you can” system is available to all parents of students at schools served by the program, with no conditions and no proof required.
With each order, families choose what they want to pay for each meal, starting at just $1.

If school staff order meals for themselves, they must pay the standard amount; the “pay what you can” system being reserved for children’s meals.

View the map of participating schools

How does it work?

The “pay what you can” system allows families to pay whatever amount works for them, confidentially and without any conditions or need to provide an explanation.

The standard amount is $6.50 per meal
If families pay less, La Cantine pour tous covers the difference. This ensures that the local caterer is fairly compensated and can remain in business.
The amounts chosen are 100% confidential: neither the school nor the local caterer knows how much the parents are paying. This ensures that the children eat healthy meals without discrimination or stigmatization.

La Cantine pour tous is financed by donors, sponsorships and public and private donations.

How do I choose how much to pay per meal?

No proof is required to choose the amount to be paid per meal when ordering. Families are free to determine the amount they are willing to pay according to their financial situation, without any hindrance or barrier. They can adjust the amount each time they order, according to their current financial situation.

Why pay more?

If parents are able, we encourage them to pay the standard amount or more per meal.
This allows:

support the program so that it can be extended to other schools;
help other families benefit;
support member caterers in their region.

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"You make all the difference! I pay the standard amount when I can, but unfortunately I've had to cut back because I'm short on money this year—and my kids were still able to get their meals! Thank you so much!"
Anonymous parent

What are the local benefits?

In addition to feeding local children, each order supports local caterers, La Cantine pour tous member organizations that work for the good of the community.

The La Cantine pour tous collective brings together non-profit community organizations, social enterprises and social economy enterprises.
Increasing the amount paid per meal enables us to integrate more members and help them in their socio-economic development by relying on the union of positive forces. It's a virtuous circle at both local and provincial levels.

Click here to discover our members