CBC Newfoundland Morning

There are 253 schools in the province, and the provincial government says more than half of them - 156 - have no school lunch program. In Tuesday's federal budget, the Liberal government confirmed it will spend a billion dollars in the next five years to feed more kids better food at school. Emily Doyle has a PhD in the study of Newfoundland and Labrador's school food program, and she has ideas about how that federal money should be put to work in this province. Doyle spoke with the CBC's Leigh Anne Power.

Elks Canada has served across the country since 1912. They volunteer their time on their own projects and on those arranged by other people in their communities. This year, they've organized The NL Provincial Elks convention in Corner Brook. The two-day conference starts this evening, and the CBC's Hillary Johnson spoke with two members of Elks Canada.

When Progressive Conservative Jim McKenna won the Fogo Island-Cape Freels by-election this week, it flipped a district that had been Liberal since it was created in 2015. McKenna took the district by more than a thousand votes over the Liberal candidate. He says important issues for rural voters, such as ferry service and the inshore fishery, have been ignored by the Furey government. To find out whether McKenna's election is a one-off, or could be an indication of more change to come, we reached political psychologist Amanda Bittner. at Memorial University.

When fewer and fewer young people were registering a few years for minor hockey, one of the reasons was the number of parents worried about concussions. Science has proven multiple hits to the head over time can lead to a brain condition called CTE. Those who suffer from it have many of the same symptoms as people with early-onset dementia. Scientist Adam Bartsch invented the "smart" mouthguard, which is now in use for all players in the World Rugby Association. He spoke with the CBC's Leigh Anne Power.

It’s a big day for Conne River. People in the community are rolling out the red carpet for the premiere of a new documentary called Forgotten Warriors, which makes its premiere in the community tonight. It takes a look at the hunger strike that happened in the 1980s against the provincial government and paved the way for a brighter future in Miawpukek. Chief Misel Joe led the nine-day protest. He and the CBC’s Jessica Singer were in the community for the big event.

If you think NL isn't able to provide enough of our own food in this province - you'd be wrong! That's according to a survey, conducted by the Community Food Producers Forum, on the topic of food production, It's called the "Where's The Food?" survey, and it looked at how much food is produced, and what types. Dan Rubin is the founding chair of the Community Food Producers Forum and one of the researchers behind the survey.

Young people who live outside of St. John's can find it hard to find the support they need. Many have to travel to the city to receive mental health care, housing support, and many other services that can be impossible to get in rural communities. Choices For Youth is a non-profit organization that gives young people access to those services as well as housing supports. The Newfoundland and Labrador government says 4.3 million dollars will fund the Choices for Youth hub project program. Jen Crowe is the senior director of strategy, fund development and external relations at Choices for Youth.

There's a new member of the House of Assembly this morning. A byelection was called for the district of Cape Freels-Fogo after the passing of MHA Derrick Bragg in January. Progressive Conservative candidate Jim McKenna was the winner.

In the last few years, we've heard a lot about measles outbreaks around the world. Anti-vaccine rhetoric is responsible for some of that, but some cases occur because people didn't get enough vaccine as children. Now health officials are seeing a rise in pertussis...whooping cough...cases. Dr. Janice Fitzgerald is the province's chief medical officer of health, and she spoke with CBC's Leigh Anne Power.

Students at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University in Corner Brook are still dealing with issues related to the cyberattack that happened in January of this year. Many students and professors have faced multiple problems with their internet connections and have had to find other ways to get by. Grenfell administration say they'll be offering a twenty-five dollar reimbursement for the internet service fee. Many students think this falls short. Grenfell Campus Student Union Academic Vice President Syed Saif Saedyei spoke with us.