September 17, 2008

 

NEWS

Goodbye burgers and chips, hello couscous and grilled chicken.

Students at College Heights Secondary School and three other Ontario high schools will don chef hats and prepare healthy meals this fall. Ontario is teaming up with celebrity chef David Rocco to promote healthy eating and to share recipes using fresh, locally grown ingredients.

Healthy eating habits help students succeed. According to the Journal of School Health, students who ate healthy - and reduced their fat intake - performed better at school.

The McGuinty government is launching this pilot project at four schools in Guelph, Brampton, Kingston and North Bay. Since 2003, Ontario has taken several steps to fuel student success through healthier food choices. Dropping trans fat from lunchroom menus, school vending machines, tuck shops, and other venues where food is sold is just one example.

Real Food for Real Kids and Foodland Ontario are partners in this pilot project. Real Food for Real Kids will use their expertise to prepare healthy recipes schools can use. Foodland Ontario will review the recipes and work with schools to identify fresh, locally-grown foods

The participating schools offer the new Specialist High Skills Major in Hospitality and Tourism.

QUOTES

"Encouraging the use of fresh, local foods is an important part of teaching young people about healthy eating," said Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister, Leona Dombrowsky. "Ontario's Foodland program and our Pick Ontario Freshness strategy are great resources that help educate consumers to make healthier food choices and learn how good things grow in Ontario."

"We can all benefit from learning how to cook healthy meals with fresh, local ingredients. This is a great opportunity for Guelph students in our Specialist High Skills Major to learn about healthy food preparation from a well-known chef," said Liz Sandals, MPP for Guelph.

"To get kids to eat healthy we need to get them excited about cooking - they'll want to eat what they've made - and that's a life skill as important as math and science," said David Rocco.

QUICK FACTS

• Schools with healthier menus saw a 50 per cent drop in new cases of overweight students within two years.

•There are more than 115 farmers' markets in Ontario.

LEARN MORE

Get healthy eating tips and recipes.

Learn what Ontario fruits and vegetables are now in season.

Find out how you can help your school become even healthier.

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Backgrounder

MAKING ONTARIO SCHOOLS HEALTHIER

Good food, daily physical activity and a healthy environment that supports learning and growth are vital to helping students reach their full potential.

The Eating Well Looks Good on You project is part of the McGuinty government's strategy to promote better health and boost student success. The pilot project provides healthy recipes to schools that use fresh, locally grown food. The project was developed in collaboration with David Rocco, Real Food for Real Kids and Foodland Ontario.

Ontario has also introduced:

• The Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act to help provide healthier options in schools. Starting in September, all schools will drop trans fat from food and beverages sold in school cafeterias, vending machines and tuck shops.

•The Healthy Schools Recognition Program that encourages schools to participate in activities that promote healthy behaviours and practices. This could include forming a weekly walking program, increasing use of local seasonal fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias or using the new recipes approved by David Rocco. Schools are encouraged to participate and be recognized.

•Twenty minutes of Daily Physical Activity during instructional time in elementary schools. This includes developing resource guides for teachers, principals and school boards, as well as an e-learning module that includes video examples of activities teachers can use.

•Sabrina's Law requiring every school board to establish and maintain an anaphylactic policy. The Ministry of Education provided every school and public health unit with an Anaphylaxis Resource Kit. The ministry also developed an e-learning module that includes video demonstrations on how to use the epinephrine auto-injectors.

•The Northern Fruit and Vegetable pilot that currently delivers three weekly servings of fruit and vegetables to 12,000 students in the Algoma and Porcupine regions of Northern Ontario.

•The new Eat Right Ontario website and telephone service where teachers, parents and caregivers can have nutrition-related questions answered by a registered dietitian for free. Call 1-877-510-510-2, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST or visit Ontario.ca/EatRight.

•Support for the development and distribution of resources such as "Busy Bodies" and "Eat Right, Be Active" for parents and caregivers of young children to help instil healthy eating habits and encourage physical activity at an early age.

For more information contact:

Sherry Persaud,
Minister's Office,
416-326-6439

Brent Ross,
Communications Branch,
416-326-9342