Creating a More Welcoming Environment Food & Friends Creating a More Welcoming Environment

Creating a More Welcoming Environment at Food & Friends Programs Review survey completed at the April 2019 network meeting Food & Friends Recommendations This project came from the F&F Committee working plan for 2019. We surveyed Program Coordinators last April to ask for their input on how we can create a more welcoming environment to all students (new comers, new enrollment) Heather and Lisa Needham from Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health & Anu Saxena (program coordinator with “Our lady Lourdes Catholic School” of who also is a part of the F&F committee is part of the working group. We will be reviewing the survey results from the April network meeting and discussing some of the recommendations we developed.

Survey Question #1 What does “Welcoming Environment” mean to F&F programs? Inclusive Friendly No stigma Welcoming Safe place Consistent We asked in the survey “What does “Welcoming environment” mean to you? The main themes that emerged include: Inclusive, friendly, no stigma, welcoming, safe place and consistent

Survey Question #2 How can we bring awareness about different food practices/items amongst the current student demographics? Parents Student ambassadors Offer variety and new foods Suggestion box Cultural lens to menu planning Student involvement Student and parent feedback Letters home to parents Student buddy (ambassador) – Peer mentoring new students Serve variety of items and introduce new foods Suggestion box for menu ideas Cultural considerations to apply to menu planning Students have opportunities to get involved developing menus Survey students and parents for menu ideas

Survey Question #3 How can we help the newcomer students become familiar with certain Canadian foods that are not common in their countries? Food samples Awareness and education Label food items Multicultural day Share recipes Theme days, weeks, or months - Handout out food samples - Offer education on different food items-example: veggie of the week (offer in different languages) - Label food items when given out to students - Multicultural day to introduce new foods from around the world - Share recipes - Theme days, weeks or months

Survey Question #4 How can we make meals both fun and educational experience for all students? Blind food tasting Student involvement Help prep food Share own cultural experiences Help create menus Fun Facts Provide nutritional facts Posters with the MCCSS guidelines and Canada Food Guide information Heather - Blind food tasting - Provide opportunities for students to get involved in prepping food for program - Give fun facts about the food being offered - Students sharing their cultural preferences with others - Students creating menus - Provide nutritional food facts - Posters with the MCCSS guidelines and Canada Food Guide information

#1 Create inclusivity within the programs Recommendations #1 Create inclusivity within the programs Promote/advocate Add a suggestion box F & F presence at multicultural events in schools Provide a friendly atmosphere Create inclusivity within the programs - Promote/advocate peer mentoring within the schools that will include introduce new students to the F&F program that their school. - Add a suggestion box to each program where students can write food or meal ideas (hopefully these will be more cultural food items) - Opportunity during multicultural events to advocate for SNP - Provide a friendly atmosphere at the program - you could add fun food facts to cooler bags that go out to classrooms

Recommendations #2 Create posters- food from different cultures Art contest Survey program coordinator’s Create posters- food from many different cultures Reach out to an art class to have an art contest -poster example breads from around the world or the different grains and what they are used in - Posters of foods around the world -Start the conversation of an art contest. We would need to determine if this would fit within school curriculum & grade first by surveying program coordinator - Is this a feasible task to ask schools/program coordinators to participate - If so, we can promote on Coordinator Facebook page and newsletters

Recommendations #3 Monthly Food Themes Monthly promotion of a “food” Promote “food highlights” through multiple mediums Recipes and nutrition info Share stories Monthly Food Themes - Pick a food item each month to promote during the month - Highlight the food in the F&F newsletter, academic calendar & the new Coordinator Facebook page - Add nutritional values to these foods and can include fun and easy recipes - Encourage programs to share stories about introducing the food item to their students - Great way to interact with coordinators on Facebook! - Can include “Did you know” facts - Would like to start in January by creating a calendar of food themes, we are hoping have a calendar ready for January 2020

Recommendations #4 Attend Multicultural Events @ schools Invite CFGW sunshine members to attend on behalf of F&F Promote cultural foods through various mediums At events provide recipes or food samples Multicultural Events @ schools Invite CFGW sunshine members to attend on behalf of F&F - Promote events on our newsletter & new F&F Facebook page - Education about different cultural foods including recipes offered at our programs Ask program coordinators to inform F&F team know when an event has been scheduled within the school, - we can offer support in organizing volunteers to man a table during the event

Recommendations #5 Fun with new foods Fun with new foods Blind food tasting Involve students in menu planning Integrate topics related to different cultural foods into student projects Awareness and promotion Fun with new foods - Blind food taste event - could be part of a network meeting or school cultural events or other school events (something like the food taste we did at the volunteer appreciation event this past spring) *be sure to check for food allergies* - Students helping to create the menu for their F&F program - This does happen already with a few programs but we would like to encourage other programs to follow suit - Provide nutritional food facts to programs - Students research foods from around the world- within school curriculum, ask for suggestions F&F committee - Offer support to programs to help promote and bring awareness to the program -by posting Pictures of seasonal foods on newsletter and Facebook page- - Monthly Food Theme including recipes - Offer fun food facts and recipes that can be found on Pinterest

Recommendations #6 Community Partners F&F team to connect with WDG Public Health Department for resources. Fun ways to promote healthy cultural foods in the school with healthy recipes Connect with the Community Food Centre Canada- cultural food training opportunities for program coordinators and F&F committee. https://cfccanada.ca/en/About-Us/Mission-and-Vision Community Partners - reach out to our community partners like Public Health Department- Lisa Needham - to help offer fun ways to promote healthy cultural foods in the school, healthy recipes - Connect with the Community Food Centre Canada- possible cultural food training opportunities - This might be a great session for a up and coming Network Meeting in the spring or fall of 2020 https://cfccanada.ca/en/About-Us/Mission-and-Vision

Questions Lisa and Heather