Food plays a big role in the school environment. Food is offered and available in a number of ways including breakfast and snack programs, class parties, school fundraisers, classroom rewards, vending machines, and the cafeteria.
Creating a school environment and culture that supports healthy eating helps students learn better and promotes lifelong healthy habits.
To help create healthy habits at your school, you can:
- Serve healthy and culturally appropriate food for nutrition programs. The Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program and Student Nutrition Programs run in the majority of our local schools.
- Expose students to a variety of nourishing foods through hands-on activities like cooking or growing food.
- Celebrate birthdays and special events with healthy foods such as fruit kebabs, make-your-own yogurt parfaits, or pita and dip.
- Plan non-food or nutritious food only school fundraisers. Try selling Ontario-grown produce or reusable lunch containers, or planning events like dance-a-thons or book fairs.
- Offer non-food items for classroom rewards. Try stickers, certificates, or extra time for physical activity.
- Check the nutritional quality of foods and drinks that are available in the vending machines and cafeteria.
- Find out if there is a school health committee you can join or start one yourself.
- Don’t comment (positively or negatively) on what foods a student has in their packed lunch. Recognize that their parent/guardian decided what foods to pack based on many factors (e.g., income, culture, child’s likes/dislikes).
- Promote litterless lunches (by encouraging students and staff to use reusable containers, water bottles, and cutlery) and initiatives to reduce food waste at school.
- Help students understand that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Differences should be accepted and celebrated.
Classroom Resources |
| Canada’s Food Guide: The Canada’s Food Guide website has many resources to assist in teaching the food guide principles to students. Class sets of the new food guide are available from Health Canada.
Bright Bites: The Bright Bites website has tips for educators and ideas for cross-curricular connections to healthy eating, from Art, Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science and Technology. Health Unit Resources to Borrow: The Health Unit lends out food model kits, our blender bike, and sugary drink resources to schools. Paint Your Plate: The Paint Your Plate lesson plans for grades 1-8 help to teach students about the importance of vegetables and fruit. UnlockFood.ca: This Dietitians of Canada run website, includes information on nutrition, recipes, videos and interactive healthy eating tools. |
School Resources |
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Nurturing Healthy Eaters in Elementary Schools (English and French) and Secondary Schools (English and French): This resource describes how school community members can support students to nurture healthy eating. Linking Healthy Eating and Mental Well-Being Infographic (English and French): This infographic shows how healthy eating is linked with mental wellbeing in children and youth. Mental Health and Weight Bias in Schools (English and French): This resource outlines how educators can support size inclusive environments. School Lunch Your Kids Will Munch Handout (English and French): This resource provides ideas and tips for packing school lunches and snacks. Bright Bites: Students need wholesome, tasty food and enjoyable eating experiences, but improving school nutrition can be challenging. BrightBites is a non-profit project that breaks this challenge down into fun, easy badges for schools to earn. Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program: The Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program provides two free servings of vegetables and fruit each week to students (JK to grade 8) from January to June. School Food and Beverage Policy: Ontario’s School Food and Beverage Policy includes nutrition standards for food and beverages sold in schools. Student Nutrition Program Nutrition Guidelines and Recipes: The Student Nutrition Program Nutrition Guidelines help to model the most healthful meals and snacks for children and youth participating in school breakfast and snack programs. Student Nutrition Program Online Learning Modules: This online course is for school staff and volunteers who are delivering student nutrition programs. Completing these learning modules will help you to understand and apply the Student Nutrition Program Nutrition Guidelines.
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Learn about other ways to create healthy schools.
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