Schools play a role in helping students develop healthy relationships with food. Providing a supportive eating environment, teaching nutrition in a positive way, and creating hands-on opportunities to learn about and experience food are key components to fostering healthy eating behaviours in children and youth at school.
Messages about food should be consistent within the school environment, whether students are learning in the classroom, attending school events, accessing student nutrition programs, or participating in fundraising.
Focus on Food in the School Environment
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.
Promoting Positive Body Image
Schools play a key role in promoting positive body image. Words and actions about body shape or size can have unintended negative effects. Comments about dieting, weight loss, or appearance (even in a complimentary way) can reinforce the idea that some bodies are better than others.
Formal and informal messages at school should reinforce body diversity and promote positive body image. When children and youth feel good about themselves and their bodies, they are more likely to adopt healthy behaviours like eating well and being active.
Using the Ministry of Education’s Foundations for a Healthy School framework, schools, school boards, parents and community partners can work together to develop healthy school environments that promote and support student well-being. Information below has been organized following this framework.
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
Lesson Plans by Growing Chefs! Ontario: Lesson plans designed to teach students Grades 1-8 about food systems, expanding their food comfort zones, and the value of food beyond nutrition.
Food Share Field to Table Schools: Guides, toolkits, and lesson plans on topics including the right to food, food systems, food justice, and local food.
Teach Body Image: This elementary curriculum contains lessons that educators can use to promote a healthy body image while teaching about healthy eating and active living.
Sustain Ontario Food Initiatives Greenhouse: Toolkits, lesson plans, and games to help K-12 educators teach about food literacy, food justice, agriculture, and food waste.
Canada’s food guide toolkit for educators: Activities to use with children to help them learn food skills, develop healthy eating patterns, understand Canada’s food guide.
School and Classroom Leadership
Policy Support
The Ministry of Education issued the School Food and Beverage Policy (also called PPM 150) in 2011. The purpose of this memorandum is to set out nutrition standards for food and beverages sold in publicly-funded elementary and secondary schools in Ontario.
Promoting Healthy Eating
Nurturing Healthy Eaters: These resources for educators, created by Ontario Dietitians in Public Health, provide tips on creating a positive eating environment, building trust with students and families, and teaching nutrition in a positive way.
Mental Health and Weight Bias in Schools: This resource from Ontario Dietitians in Public Health provides information for educators on reducing the risk of weight-based stereotypes and bias and creating safe, inclusive environments at school.
Tools and Training for Educators
Food Neutral Classrooms: Safer Food Teaching is Possible – Videos for educators, developed by Gwen Kostal, RD from Dietitians 4 Teachers. Tips are provided for meeting K-12 Health & Physical Education curriculum expectations without causing unintended harm. Note: These videos are password-protected. Educators, please contact us to request the password.
Supporting Healthy Eating at School – This webinar recording offers an overview of ways to support children to eat well and nurture healthy relationships with food in the school setting and beyond.
A Journey Through Canada’s New Food Guide – What Educators Need to Know: This webinar recording includes a discussion on the update to Canada’s Food Guide and information to help support students’ understanding of the food guide.
Supporting Teachers with Positive Body Image and Eating Disorder Prevention: This webinar recording from the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) contains tools and information to help educators better understand body image issues and eating disorders in youth.
Reflections of Me: The ETFO Body Image Project: This web page contains background information, hands-on lessons, and lists of resources to support educators with teaching positive body image and self-esteem.
Food Handler Training Certification: This low-cost training offered by HPEPH is available in several formats for any individuals interested in obtaining their food handler’s certificate.
Student Engagement
Fundraising
Fresh from the Farm: This program offers an alternative to traditional fundraising. Students can sell Ontario-grown produce to raise funds while promoting healthy eating.
Bake it Up!: Give your next bake sale a makeover with tasty recipes that comply with the PPM150 School Food and Beverage Policy “Sell Most” criteria.
School Wide Campaigns
Social and Physical Environments
BrightBites: BrightBites is designed to support school communities with improving their food environments, one “bite” at a time. School teams can earn badges using evidence-based information and resources. Badges include:
Good Food Bags: Families can purchase fresh vegetables and fruit at a fraction of the retail cost through this program from CDC Quinte. To place a large group order or purchase produce in bulk, contact cdc@cdcquinte.com or call 613-968-2466.
Elementary School Milk Program: Ontario schools can register to receive regular milk deliveries to support their food programming.
What Can I Serve?: This document outlines food safety guidelines for before and after school, breakfast, lunch, snack programs, and school council events.
Food for Learning: This local agency oversees Student Nutrition Programs in Hastings and Prince Edward schools. Their website offers tips, recipes, and support to help schools make the most of their programs.
Home, School and Community Partnerships
Home: Resources for Parents/Caregivers
- 10 Tips to Help your Child Have a Healthier Relationship with Food & their Body
- A Healthy Relationship with Food: What it Means for your Teen
- Packing Food for the School Day
- Choose to Boost Veggies and Fruit
- Grocery List and Menu Planner
- At-a-Glance Guide to Ontario’s School Food and Beverage Policy
- Weight Bias: A Call to Action
- Food Neutral Kids: Safer Food Experiences are Possible – pre-recorded 60 min video for parents and caregivers of grades K-3, 4-8 and 9-12 students. Video recording is best shown in group settings. Available upon request.
Community
- Ontario Granting Programs: Consider partnering with local community groups to apply for grants to support healthy eating initiatives in your school.
- School Gardens: Involve the local community in creating and maintaining school/community gardens or greenhouses.
- Ophea Healthy Schools Certification: Strengthen community engagement and partnerships by involving the community in the development, planning, and implementation of Healthy Schools initiatives.
- Consider partnering with local community organizations to develop food skills opportunities for students.
Additional Resources
- Unlock Food: This website from Dietitians of Canada provides information on nutrition, food, healthy eating, and disease prevention.
- Cookspiration: This site has recipe ideas and a menu planner to help make eating well easier.
- Health Connect Ontario: Residents of Ontario can access free nutrition information and advice from a Registered Dietitian by calling 811 or starting a live chat Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
- Nutrition Labelling: An interactive tool to educate consumers about nutrition facts tables, % daily value, ingredient lists and nutrition claims.
