IntroductionDid you know that many Canadian children have poor nutritional health? That’s not something you would expect from a high-income country, right? However, the statistics show:
The common factor amongst all these stats is food insecurity- the inability to access foods that are nutritious, sufficient, and according to dietary needs/ preference (Ashe & Sonnino, 2013). The lack of nutritious diets results in under-nutrition and/or obesity for school-aged children. Which is why school food programs are critical locations for a food system intervention as children spend most of their waking hours in school, giving a great opportunity for change (Colley et al., 2019). School food programs (SFPs) are healthy meals given to children at school in the form of breakfast, lunch, or snacks (Hernandez et al., 2018). They often integrate educational components as well to teach about healthy eating. Overall, they enhance food security for children by fighting the underconsumption of nutritious foods. They also address income inequality gaps that make it difficult to afford healthy foods that are more expensive and less available than junk food (Food Systems Dashboard, 2020). SFPs are a food justice effort because they fight oppressive food systems to give an equal chance at good health to all children (yay for health equity). Plus, they help make sure that developing cognitive impairments and diet-related diseases do not depend on your family’s ability to afford nutritious foods (Colley et al., 2019). School food programs are extremely important intervention sites for food justice because they reduce food insecurity among children by increasing equitable access to healthy foods.
Better Learning OutcomesNutritious meals also help fuel the minds of children and get their brains thinking critically during class. Importantly, school food programs improve student attendance, tardiness, focus in class, and educational achievement (Hernandez et al., 2018). For example, Nova Scotia found that their breakfast program improved students’ math performance (Hernandez et al., 2018). That’s certainly something I could have benefited from back in school. As such, it's great that unequal access to healthy foods can be reduced so that each child has an equal chance to be successful in their educational journey. Gain Life-Skills
Food LiteracyFood literacy components in SFPs help students learn how to read food labels, understand what highly processed foods will do to their bodies and gain skills to make healthy choices outside the classroom. As a matter of fact, they learn about the distance between their plates and the farmers planting their foods and can help reduce this distance through sustainable eating habits like buying locally produced foods (Everitt et al., 2020). ConclusionI would like to end this post with a call to action for a national school food program as Canada is one of the only industrialized nations without one. Research shows that SFPs can help fight food insecurity for many Canadian children. I personally recommend a universal program to not stigmatize and single out disadvantaged students and to incorporate culturally appropriate foods according to student preferences (Hernandez et al., 2018; Mcisaac et al., 2018). Learn how to take action and push for a Canada-wide school food program to be included in the 2022 Canadian budget: www.healthyschoolfood.ca/nourishkidsnow References
Ashe, L. M., & Sonnino, R. (2013). At the crossroads: new paradigms of food security, public health nutrition and school food. Public Health Nutrition, 16(6), 1020–1027. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980012004326 Colley, P., Myer, B., Seabrook, J., & Gilliland, J. (2019). The impact of Canadian school food programs on Children’s nutrition and health: A systematic review. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 80(2), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2018-037 Colley, P., Miller, L., Seabrook, J. A., Woodruff, S. J., & Gilliland, J. (2021). Children’s perceptions of a Centrally Procured School Food Program in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 41(4), 131–137. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.41.4.02 Everitt, T., Engler-Stringer, R., & Martin, W. (2020). Determining promising practices for Canadian school food programs: A scoping review. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2020.1823925 Gillies, C., Blanchet, R., Gokiert, R., Farmer, A., Thorlakson, J., Hamonic, L., & Willows, N. D. (2020). School-based nutrition interventions for Indigenous children in Canada: a scoping review. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 11–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8120-3 Hernandez, K., Engler-Stringer, R., Kirk, S., Wittman, H., & McNicholl, S. (2018). The case for a Canadian national school food program. Canadian Food Studies / La Revue Canadienne Des Études Sur L’alimentation, 5(3), 208–229. https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i3.260 Mcisaac, J.-L. D., Read, K., Williams, P. L., Raine, K. D., Veugelers, P. J., & Kirk, S. F. L. (2018). Reproducing or reducing inequity? Considerations for school food programs. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 79(1), 18–22. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2017-029 The Food Systems Dashboard. (2020). About food systems. Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Johns Hopkins University. Geneva, Switzerland. https://foodsystemsdashboard.org/about-food-system
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AuthorHi, I'm Abeeha Syed! As a student in HLTD21 I have learned about food insecurity and interventions that can mobilize food justice change. This blog is all about school food programs as a tool for change, increasing health equity and food justice. |