1. Provincial School Nutrition Policies and Food SecurityBy
Mary McKenna
University of New Brunswick
January 2013

2. Overview Evidence on school nutrition programs School nutrition policy
Policy comparisons
Access to food
Pricing
Local foods
Food marketing
Organizations that fund school nutrition programs

3. Evidence School nutrition programs have been found wanting*:
As an instrument of social policy and for reducing inequities
In trying to feed hungry children in a non-stigmatizing manner
As an area of potential investment by the Canadian federal government, which regards such services as provincial/territorial jurisdiction exclusively
In terms of providing unequivocal strong evidence that they have an important positive effect on children’s learning
*Canadian context – no discussion of role of such programs in other countries

4. Evidence Improve likelihood of eating breakfast
Assist with meeting nutrition requirements
Improve dietary status
Increase vegetable and fruit consumption
Improve health
improve weight status and serum cholesterol
Improve school performance
Improve attendance and on-time arrival at school
There exists no “safe” level of inadequate nutrition for healthy, growing children. Even nutritional deficiencies of a relatively short duration – a missed breakfast, an inadequate lunch – impair children’s ability to function and learn. Brown, Beardslee, Prowthrow-Stith, 2008

5. School Nutrition Policy
Framework to guide school planning, implementation, and evaluation pertaining to student nutrition and health
Promote norms
Reflect national dietary guidance
Consider cultural and dietary practices

6. Type of School Nutrition Policy
Province
Policy AL
Recommended guidelines QC
Provincial guidelines for recommended board action MN
Provincial guidance on required district policies SK NS
Provincially required policy and recommended guidelines NL
Provincially required policy NB ON BC PE
In transition (from required district policies)

7. Components of Provincial SNP’s
Nutrition standards and food facilities/outlets
Meal scheduling/eating environments
Food intake of staff
Nutrition education/information
Nutrition training of staff/volunteers
Family/community involvement
Food safety
Food rewards/punishment
Special events/celebrations
Fundraising
Monitoring
Nutrition committee

8. Access to Food Manitoba Saskatchewan Nova Scotia New Brunswick
(Ontario)
Prince Edward Island

9. Access to Food: MN
School policies can address breakfast or snack programs to ensure no child goes hungry (p. 34).
Breakfast programs should be open to all students, but should not encourage students to replace breakfasts normally eaten at home (Annapolis Valley Regional School Board).

10. Access to Food: SK
School meal programs and/or emergency food are available to ensure that all students have access to nutritious food in school.
A community of caregivers, school staff, students and/or local business partners advocate and implement strategies for addressing food security. Examples include community kitchens, the “Good Food Box” and community gardens. Local foods are purchased as often as possible.

11. Access to Food: NS Students who may be Vulnerable
All students need nourishment during the school day. Some students may be challenged in meeting this need for a variety of reasons including poverty, life-threatening food allergies, and other medical conditions requiring special dietary considerations (DIR, p. 3).
Schools will ensure that students and parents are aware of breakfast, lunch, and snack programs that are offered in or through the school at minimal or no cost and are accessible to all students
Schools must ensure that any food programs are made available to students in a non-stigmatizing manner (p. 6)

12. Access to Food: NB Food Services Guidelines/Recommendations
Breakfast and hot lunch programs will be consistent with the <Healthier Foods and Nutrition in Public Schools> policy (p. 3).
Guidelines/Recommendations
Schools and school community partners should encourage parent/s guardians to provide a healthy breakfast and healthy foods at home (p. 4).

13. Access to Food: ON
NOTE: The standards do NOT apply to food and beverages that are offered in schools to students at no cost
Requirement: school boards must ensure that students have access to drinking water during the school day (p. 4)

14. Access to Food: PE
The Board and administrators will improve student access to food by:
Improving access by all students to healthy, safe, reasonably priced, attractively presented food choices: and
Reducing hunger among children living with food insecurity, through enhanced access to healthy foods within the school setting, provided in a non-stigmatizing manner.
Western School District School Nutrition Policy

15. Access to Food: PE
All schools will continue to participate in and promote the PEI School Milk Program
All schools are encouraged to stock an emergency food cupboard with healthy choices for students in need
Schools are encouraged to provide breakfast or snack programs when a need is identified, which will: be open to all students but will not be promoted as a replacement for breakfast eaten at home; and will follow Best Practice Standards from Breakfast for Learning.
Eastern and Western School District School Nutrition Policies

16. Pricing
AL: healthier food choices are competitively priced relative to less nutritious foods
Affordable healthy meal choices should be a priority over affordable healthy snacks
SK: Healthy foods are reasonable priced and readily available in the school (e.g., cafeteria, canteen)
MN: School policies can influence the appropriate pricing, promotion and advertising of nutritious food (p. 33)
(e.g., Support healthy food choices by providing affordable, nutritious food (Annapolis Valley Regional School Board).

17. Pricing
NS: The cost of food and beverages influences whether or not they are chosen. School food and beverages should be served and sold primarily for the purposes of providing nutrition rather than for revenue generation (DIR, p. 2).
NB: Foods with maximum and moderate nutritional value sold in school will be priced as close to cost as practicable (p. 2).
BC: Price is the most important factor in helping students make healthier choices. A decreased profit margin on healthier products can be compensated by raising the prices of less healthy products during the transition to full implementation of the Guidelines (p. 24)

18. Pricing
PE: Schools will support healthy food choices by pricing approaches which encourage students to choose healthy foods over less healthy foods when food is sold at school.

19. Local Foods
AL: Identify vendors, farmers and businesses that can provide Alberta-grown produce or other healthful products at affordable prices (P.53)
NS: Whenever possible, schools and food service providers should use food and beverages that are grown, produced, or manufactured in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada (GUI, p. 10)
NL: many foods such as local vegetables and wholesome homemade meals do not have a Nutrition Facts table. These items can be very healthy choices (p. 28)
ON: Offer, when available and where possible, food and beverages that are produced in Ontario (consideration, p. 4)

20. Food Marketing
AL: Market healthier food choices with positive sign associations such as a message displayed where milk is sold, ‘milk builds strong bones and teeth!’ (p. 54)
AL: Teachers and student councils can work together on marketing campaigns that promote healthy food choices (p. 56)
NS: Promotion and Advertising: Partnerships between schools and business work best when designed to meet identified health and educational needs rather than serve commercial motives (DIR p. 2).

21. Food Marketing
NB: School administrators, all staff and school community partners should promote the consumption of foods with maximum nutritional value on school premises (p. 4).
BC: Implementation: Develop and implement marketing mechanisms to further encourage healthy choices (e.g., making healthier choices more plentiful, more visible and less expensive, compared to their less healthy counterparts). P. 6)

22. Food Marketing
PE: Schools will work to develop an environment that promotes healthy eating by:
Promoting and/or advertising only healthy food choices
Not accepting advertising of food products for unhealthy food choices
Displaying attractive current promotional materials related to healthy eating throughout schools
Eastern School District School Nutrition Policy (p. 95)

23. Other Policies . . . NL: Eating Healthier in Newfoundland and Labrador
Target: increase the percentage of schools which provide support to disadvantaged children through subsidized feeding programs (p. 50).
NB: Throne Speech, 2012:
Your government has committed to promoting local community food products to residents, visitors and businesses as part of its strategy to grow the Value-Added Food sector. Your government will build on this effort with initiatives to promote the benefits of healthy food choices.

24. Opportunities
Work with P/T partners and others to compile and identify better practice comprehensive nutrition policies that address all facets of school nutrition, including access to food, pricing, local foods and food marketing.
Ensure that pertinent policy information is consistent and easily accessible to user groups.
Provide guidelines and support for implementation and monitoring of each aspect.

25. Organizations that Fund School Nutrition Programs
Compilation of national charities; provincial, territorial, and large municipal government and charitable groups that fund school nutrition programs
Program reach and summary
Funding information
Monitoring activities
Contact information
(Total budget, opinions of program leaders)

26. Programs National Charities Provincial/territorial government programs
Multiple funding agencies (e.g., Education, Children and Youth Services, Health, Agriculture, Wellness)
Maybe more than one program per province/territory
May be nutrition-specific or part of a larger program
Provincial/territorial charities
Government and/or privately funded
Municipal governments
Municipal charities
Industry-sponsored
Subsidized milk programs

27. BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program
Program location
Program summary
Number of programs
Grant size
Further information
British Columbia
Provides fresh fruits and vegetables to K-12 public
schools and First Nations
schools every other week
for 13 weeks per school year
> 1300 schools and
> 433,000 students
Provision of ready-to-eat
produce
0 0

28. Kids Eat Smart Newfoundland and Labrador
Program location
Program summary
Number of programs
Grant size
Further information
Newfoundland and Labrador
Provides breakfast, lunch, or snack programs to K-12 school
children
> 200 Kids Eat Smart Clubs
Approximately 19,000 children
participate; approximately
52,000 have access to programs
Assessed on an individual basis
0 0

29. Observations Programs are heavily dependent on volunteers
Over 9500 volunteers in the BC and NL examples
Charitable model may result in less control over nutritional quality of food donations
Time spent on sustaining programs competes with time spent on program content
Potential competition among programs may detract from primary mandate
Programs may include educational and other components
Convictions are deeply rooted
It shouldn’t be sustainable but programs continue to operate

30. Challenges to Sustainability
Access to adequate resources
Vulnerability to loss of funding
Changes in priorities for funding sources
Increasing number of families in need
Community indifference or unawareness of local need
Strong partnerships between the school and the community, including parents, funding agencies, and other stakeholders, are vital to the long-term sustainability of programs
Saskatchewan, 2006

31. Potential “Value-Added” of School Nutrition Programs
Are such programs desirable independent of their potential role as instruments of social policy?
School food as a ‘micro-climate’ for comprehensive school health actions
Student leadership
Environmental sustainability
Consumption of local foods
Cultural diversity
Socialization
Nutrition and health education
Policy education
Awareness of food marketing

32. Questions
Are programs adequately addressing the concerns about their value:
More evidence is required to adequately assess the contribution these programs can make to (without creating adverse consequences such as dependency or stigmatization)
Alleviate hunger
Enhance nutrition
Contribute to healthy child development
Opportunities for increased monitoring and evaluation and sharing of results
Individual programs
Cross-program processes and outcomes

33. Opportunities
Recognize the growing number of programs, their variety, and the basis on which they operate
Acknowledge the collective experience within these programs, their potential as partners, and their reach within schools
Dialogue and share to better understand current practices, challenges, tensions, and needs within the field
Identify strategic opportunities to contribute to healthy eating for all Canadian school children

34. What do we want for our children?
Mary McKenna
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