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  3. Food and Nutrition

Food and Nutrition

Teaching young people about food and nutrition is important to show them the positive role food plays in supporting their physical, social, and mental well-being.

New Resource for Educators and Administrators!

School Nutrition TOOLKIT:
How to Create a Supportive Food Environment at School

Find helpful tips, and resources to help increase access to nutritious food and help students form positive relationships with food and their bodies.

Schools can support children to learn valuable nutrition knowledge, practice key food and life skills (e.g., cooking, and gardening), learn where food comes from, and understand what affects our access to food. Schools can also help students explore different foods and develop a positive relationship with food. 

Why is Nutrition Important?

Good nutrition for children and youth is important for healthy growth and development and can help prevent health problems later in life. When students eat well, they are more energized, focused, and better able to learn. With students spending a large part of their day at school, the school food environment plays an important role in helping students to eat well and form positive connections to food.

In Canada, diets which are low in nutritious foods like vegetables and fruit, and high in things like salt (sodium) and sugary beverages, increase the risk of long-term disease (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer) (Health Canada, 2019).

What are the Canadian Nutrition Recommendations?

Canada’s Food Guide (French) recommends eating a variety of foods each day including fruits and vegetables, protein foods, and whole grain foods. It recommends choosing more protein foods that come from plants (e.g., beans, lentils, nuts and seeds), and making water the drink of choice. 

How can we build a good relationship with food and our bodies?

How we talk, teach and think about food at school is important because it affects our body image and eating behaviours. As we learn more about school-based nutrition, we know that past strategies meant to lower obesity rates and get students to choose only “healthy” or “good” foods have made certain foods, body types, and people to be seen as “unhealthy” or “bad.” This way of thinking has hurt the ability for children and youth to have positive relationships with food and their own bodies, and disordered eating rates have risen. 

Access to nutritious food is important, but so is exploring and taking joy in our experiences with food! When talking about food, it’s important to simply call foods by their name and not label them “good” or “bad,” so that youth can explore different foods without shame. We should also let youth follow hunger and fullness cues, decide what order to eat their food, and encourage them to appreciate different aspects of food such as smell, colour, and taste.

Learn more about how schools can create a supportive food environment that helps build positive relationships with food.

What can schools, parents and students do to promote nutrition?

Some actions that schools can take to promote nutrition:

Below you will find additional information and community resources for educators, parents/caregivers, and students. Educator resources are organized using the Ministry of Education’s Foundations for a Healthy School framework. A healthy school is created when schools, parents and community partners work together to build school environments that promote and support student well-being.

Resources & Information for:

Background Resources:

Lessons and Activities

  • Teach Food First: An Educator’s Toolkit – Healthy Schools BC
    Grades K-8
    A toolkit focused on a food exploration approach to nutrition education that has been linked to long-term, positive eating attitudes, and behaviours. Includes lesson plans, teaching tips and resources. Also contains First Nations Foods lesson plans.
  • Food Is Science (French) - Sustain Ontario 
    Grades 3, 5-9
    Information, lesson plans, and videos about food and food systems to meet the new food literacy expectation in Ontario’s Science and Technology curriculum. Also see Food Initiatives Greenhouse (French) for more educator resources for all grades.
  • Teach Nutrition – Dairy Farmers of Canada’s Registered Dietitians
    Grades K-12
    Food and nutrition resources, lessons plans and activities that compliment Canada’s Food Guide. Available in French
  • Growing Chefs Teacher Resources – Growing Chefs Ontario
    Grades 1-8
    Curriculum-based lesson plans involving food, activities, resources and videos to support food literacy.
  • You’re the Chef – WECHU
    Grades 4-12
    A fun and interactive program that teaches basic cooking skills. Contact csh@wechu.org for information.
  • School Food Gardens Start-up Guide – Region of Waterloo Public Health
    A guide to creating a school garden to support health and learning.
  • Tower Garden – Juice Plus+
    A vertical growing system that allows vegetables, herbs, and flowers in small spaces either indoors or outdoors. Included are lesson plans and learning materials.

School Campaigns and Social Media

  • BrightBites (French) – Ontario Dietitians in Public Health
    Grades K-12
    The school community can work together to complete school nutrition challenges that promote a positive school food environment. Students can design campaigns to promote water consumption, plan healthier fundraisers, change school food policies and more. 
  • Great Big Crunch – Ontario Student Nutrition Program Southwest
    Grades K-12
    Celebrate our local Great Big Crunch event each October to celebrate student nutrition and the local apple harvest. Annual activity guide available.
  • Youth action on food insecurity: A toolkit for secondary school students
    Grades 9-12
    This toolkit from Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (ODPH) offers user-friendly resources and ideas that students can use to develop awareness-raising campaigns about food insecurity.
  • Ontario School Food and Beverage Policy (PPM 150)– Ministry of Education, Ontario
    School boards must ensure that all food and beverages sold on school premises meet certain 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.
  • 10 Ways to Improve the School Food Environment (French) – Middlesex-London Healthy Unit (MLHU) & Southwestern Public Health (SWPH)
    A resource with tips for schools to create an environment that helps students eat well and develop positive relationships with food.
  • Water Works Toolkit – BrightBites
    This toolkit contains resources that include surveys, activities, announcements, tips and trivia to promote water as the drink of choice for hydration.
  • Cafeteria Revival Checklist – BrightBites
    Tips contained in this checklist help to create a positive eating environment.

Resources in the community 

  • Elementary School Fresh Milk Program – Dairy Farmers of Ontario
    A resource to support an elementary school milk program. 
  • Ontario Student Nutrition Program
    The Student Nutrition Program offers school-age children and youth nutritious food through breakfast, lunch, and snack programs. Contact the Windsor-Essex coordinators for more information on how to apply, donate or volunteer.
  • Fresh From the Farm (French) – Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association
    Fundraise with fresh locally grown produce to support the health and wellbeing of your school community. 

School Grants and Funding Opportunities

Support in the Community

  • Find a Registered Dietitian - WECHU
    A maintained list of local supports. 
  • 211 Ontario
    Call the 2-1-1 helpline for help finding helpful social services, programs and community supports, or search their online directory for topics such as accessing food. 
  • Food Banks in Windsor-Essex County (French)
    Emergency food services available by searching your location.
  • Kids First Programs – Windsor Family Homes & Community Partnerships
    Variety of programs offered to support health and wellness including nutrition lessons and activities for children and youth.
  • Summer Eats for Kids Program – United Way/ Centraide Windsor-Essex County
    Annual summer program that provides children and families living in low-income with nutritious food during the summer. Visit the website for more information.

Additional Resources and Support

  • Teen Health – Windsor Essex Community Health Centre (weCHC)
    Healthcare services for youth 12-24 years of age that include counselling and eating disorder support.
  • 211 Ontario
    Call the 2-1-1 for help finding helpful social services, programs and community supports, or search their online directory for topics such as accessing food.
  • Kids Help Phone (French)
    Call 1-800-668-6868 or text 686868. Information and support 24/7 across Canada for kids, teens, and young adults.  Professional counsellors/volunteer crisis responder and resources that include topics on nutrition, self-esteem, body image and more.