Healthy Eating

Resources

• Government of Canada- Canada's food guide (French): A collection of teaching resources (French) to support healthy eating.
• Canada’s food guide Marketing can influence your food choices (French): This resource stresses being aware of marketing because it can influence your food choices.
• Interior Health- Toolkit for Educators: Links to backgrounder details on Canada’s food guide, tips for schools to nurturing healthy eaters, and other key messages.
• Ministry of Health & BC Centre for Disease Control-Teach Food First: An Educator’s Toolkit for Exploring Canada’s Food Guide with K-8 students: Created in partnership with public health Dietitians, BC teachers, and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers. It focuses on a food exploration approach to nutrition education that has been linked to long-term, positive eating attitudes, and behaviours.
• Nutrition Connections- Effective Education Strategies to Increase Food and Nutrition Knowledge and Children and Youth: The importance of food literacy during childhood, and all settings reinforcing knowledge gained, and developing policy.
• Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (ODPH)- School Nutrition Resources: a collection of evidence-based resources to support healthy eating and nutrition in both elementary and secondary schools.
  • Infographic: Healthy Schools: Linking Nutrition and Mental Well-being; a recap of the connections between healthy eating and positive mental well-being providing facts and tips. Also offered in French.
  • Summary of Evidence: Mental Well-Being and Nutrition in School-aged children and youth
  • One-page resources for educators that provide tips on creating a positive eating environment, building trust with students and families, and positively teaching nutrition.
  • Nurturing Healthy Eaters in Elementary Schools (Available in French)
  • Nurturing Healthy Eaters in Secondary Schools (Available in French)
• Dietitians of Canada- Unlock Food: videos that support nutrition, healthy eating as well as recipes. Content developed by Registered Dietitians. Available in French.
• A collection of videos that support important food skills:
  • Knife skills
  • Measuring food
  • Washing vegetables and fruit
  • Cutting an onion
  • Cutting garlic
  • How to cut a bell pepper
  • How to prepare ginger
  • Juicing a lemon

Lessons and Activities

• WECHU- You're the Chef: A fun and interactive program that teaches basic cooking skills to children in grades 4-12. (Interested in You’re the Chef training contact csh@wechu.org for information/support on teaching food skills in schools.)
• Sustainability- Supporting Sustainability in Nutrition: Hands-on science-type projects as resources, for instance, there is a project related to Pollinator Power: Nutrition Security Benefits of an Ecosystem Service. Available in many languages.
• Growing Chefs! Ontario: Provides lesson plans, activities, and videos for Grades 1 to 8 to get students excited about healthy wholesome food.
• Dairy Farmers of Canada’s Registered Dietitians- TeachNutrition™: Educational programs and resources available free just search by grade level to find great ideas that you can use for free. Available in French.
• PHE Canada- Healthy Eating Education Activities (French): Provide students [grades k to 12] with a foundational understanding that will address the what, why, and how as it relates to healthy eating’ that stresses the think, feel, and act reactions. This is an example of one of their many activities:
  • Come to Me, Recipes (French): An activity for grade levels 7 to 12 that supports the Yummly app which youth can use to figure out a healthy snack or meal with the ingredients or foods that are available.
• Ontario Dietitians in Public Health- Paint Your Plate Toolkit: This toolkit was developed for Ontario child care settings. However, many of the activities can be modified for other early learning environments (JK-SK).
• BrightBites- Paint Your Plate (French): Lesson plans are available for Grades 1-7. Each has prompts for classroom discussion and relates to curriculum connections. Including discussions on hunger, fullness, and thirst cues.
• FoodShare- Field to Table: Topics such as the right to food, food justice, and local food are covered in resources (e.g., guides, toolkits, and lesson plans) for educators.
• Sustain Ontario Food Initiatives Greenhouse: Lesson plans, games, and toolkits to help grades K-12 educators teach about food literacy, food justice, and food waste. Available in French.
• Ophea: Free online resources to support educators in implementing the Ontario Health and Physical Activity Curriculum (Grades 1-12), including lesson plans, videos, and resources to help you teach nutrition and healthy eating. Must create an account to access resources. Try using search terms such as food literacy or healthy eating and then narrow it down by your grade. Available in French.

• Ophea- Healthy Schools Certification (French Version): An annual opportunity to help promote the health and well-being of students, staff, and the school community. Contact your school’s nurse at 519-258-2146 x 1555 for more information on how they can support your school in achieving a Healthy Schools Certification.
• Ontario Elementary School Milk Program: A program that’s been around since 1986 is designed to help develop the habit of drinking milk in a fun and rewarding way.
• Fresh from the Farm: An annual campaign that is a fresh take on a school fundraiser. This program allows schools to fundraise by selling Ontario-grown fruits and vegetables.
• Ontario Student Nutrition Program Southwest Region: Details about this program, access to reporting requirements for schools, with resources available in French. If your school has a program consider ways to improve or make it better by aspiring to The Gold Standard Student Nutrition Program (seven characteristics based on best practices, and guidelines).
• Ophea- Healthy Eating Professional Learning: These webinars aim to support educators to inspire students to build a healthy relationship with food.

• School gardens teach children about where food comes from with school gardens can increase their awareness of the link between the food system, health, and sustainability. The resources in this section can help students learn more about the food system and how food is grown, including skill-building opportunities with potential links to other aspects of the curriculum (e.g., science, math).
• Region on Waterloo- School Food Gardens Start-up Guide: A guide to installing and enhancing learning opportunities.
• Growing Minds and Farm to School- Steps to a Classroom Garden: Ten points/tips to consider around planning a garden.
• Juice Plus+- Tower Gardens: A vertical growing system that allows vegetables, herbs, and flowers in small spaces either indoors or outdoors. Included are lesson plans and learning materials.
• Southwestern Ontario Gleaners: Students consider volunteering (those 14 years and older and with access to the Leamington facility) during the summer break to support making dehydrated soup and fruit mixes for international distribution. A great way to get community hours, support food relief efforts, and understand the issue of food waste in our communities.
• Mindful Eating- Headspace blue tool: An online platform that supports access to information, related to mindfulness and coaching around various topics to improve health. The Headspace mindful eating section offers various activities and information.

School Campaigns and Social Media

• BrightBites (French): This non-profit project that breaks the challenge of improving school nutrition down into fun, easy badges. Entire schools (elementary and secondary) or individual classes/groups can sign up as teams and boost student well-being. Students can design campaigns to promote water consumption, plan healthier fundraisers, change school policies to support healthy eating in schools, and much more!
  • Water Works (French): This promotes water, especially in place of sugar-sweetened beverages. It can help prevent dental cavities, promote overall health, and help students and staff feel better throughout the day. Provided are tools and activities to support getting started.
• Ontario Student Nutrition Program- Southwest- Great Big Crunch: Celebrated locally in October with interactive events. Typically, it is a chance to celebrate local farmers, the fall harvest, and a new school year.

• When discussing nutrition and food, it is important to recognize that many factors influence the foods students bring to school. Some families do not have access to all types of foods or even enough food at home. Avoid commenting on the types and amounts of food brought from home. Instead, focus on how you can explore food in positive ways and expose students to a variety of food in the school environment.
• Ontario, Ministry of Education- School Food and Beverage Policy (PPM 150): School boards must ensure that all food and beverages sold on school premises for school purposes meet specific requirements, including nutrition standards. The nutrition standards apply to all food and beverages sold on school property (e.g., cafeterias, vending machines, tuck shops), and through all programs and events such as catered lunch programs, bake sales, and sporting events. The purpose of the policy is to promote healthy food environments in schools by increasing access to healthy foods. Contact your school’s Public Health Nurse for questions about the policy.
• School Wellness Bulletin Boards: Use this space to support the Dietitians of Canada’s, National Nutrition Month annual campaign which is in March. Its slogan is Unlock the Potential of Food. Available in French.
• MLHU & SWPH- 10 Ways to Improve the School Food Environment (French): A resource that aims to make it easier for students to eat well and help them develop a positive relationship with food. 

Resources in the community

• The City of Windsor- 211: A number to call to access emergency food services locally.
• WECHU- Find a Registered Dietitian: A maintained list of local supports.
• WECHU- Eat4Life: Free programs offered locally through many different organizations. Different courses build habits to make healthy choices; for residents 18 years of age or older. Call for more details.
• Youth Wellness Hubs offers Educational Groups to learn new skills around cooking and through their Recreational Activities gardening opportunities.
• Ontario Student Nutrition Program Southwest Region: Each school that is running this program may need volunteers. The volunteers could have different roles like shopping, preparing, organizing, serving, and helping with monthly reporting. All volunteers are school volunteers and not volunteering through VON, the lead organization. Assistance with training and familiarizing volunteers would come from the community development coordinators.
• WECHU- Cooking at Home Toolkit: This resource is designed to help parents get children of all ages involved in the kitchen. It has some pointers on teaching to cook and food safety, and recipes. 
• WECHU- Packing a lunch for a balanced school day and the Eat Well at School with Canada’s Food Guide are two resources to foster healthy eating at school. These feature points around our nationwide guidelines. Both are available in multiple languages.

Other Supports and Resources

• Kids Help Phone (French): A webpage to build some skills and if you need to chat with a trained, volunteer Crisis Responder text CONNECT to 686868.
• Health811: Offers free nutrition counselling services by calling 811 or visiting their website page.
• UCONN RUDD CENTER- How to Talk to Your Child about Weight Bias: A small booklet to guide parents in supporting their child who is experiencing weight-based teasing or bullying.
• KFL&A Public Health- A Tool for Every Parent: Building Healthy Bodies and Minds: A primer to support ways to role model behaviours and positive attitudes.
• Freggietales: This website has games and recipes to be enjoyed as a family. Also available in French.
• Cookspiration (French): This site has recipe ideas and a menu planner to help make eating well easier.
• Dietitians of Canada- Unlock Food (French): Includes information on nutrition, food, and healthy eating as well as recipes, videos, and interactive healthy eating tools; content developed by Registered Dietitians. Plus supports how to make a healthy meal /use the plate guide. This website has resources on balanced meals.

School Grants

• Ontario Student Nutrition Program, Southwest Region: This program ensures children attend school well-nourished and ready to learn.
• TD Friends of the Environment Foundation Grant (French): Applications are accepted year-round for environmental education programs, including green spaces.
• President’s Choice- PC’s Power Full Kids™ (French): To help cover the costs of purchasing food and support for educators to teach kids to grow and cook. Those enrolled in the Power Full Kids program can access also the Equipment Fund, another grant. The Grow and Cook grant covers the cost of equipment that students can keep. Application forms and key dates are found on their website.
• Whole Kids Foundation: Grants related to gardening, honey bees, and encouraging healthy, local, sustainable food. Check the website for application dates and details. 
• Walmart- Community Giving: A focus on eliminating food insecurity in our communities.