NEWS
The Government of Canada releases new food guide
Healthy eating is more than just the foods you eat. Read here to learn more about recommended food choices, eating habits, recipes, tips and resources. This food guide follows three years of extensive consultation with Canadian health professionals and reviews of guides from other leading countries in the world. It will help set the standards for food literacy and eating practices for years to come.
Canada's Food Guide
Kids in the kitchen
The new school year is around the corner, and it may look different from usual. Canada’s food guide is here to help you. Whether you’re packing lunches and snacks for school or eating at home, involve your kids in planning and preparation. This helps them develop important food skills and healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. Try these ideas:
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Let them choose. Sit down together and make a list of different meals and snacks your kids enjoy. Make sure the list includes a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods.
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Assign a task. Young kids can wash vegetables and fruits. Older kids can assemble their own meals and snacks.
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Try new recipes together. Swap kid-friendly recipes with friends or find recipes online. Let your kids choose ones that look good to them.
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Encourage learning. Talk to your kids about what makes a healthy meal.
Did you know?
Teaching kids skills like reading a recipe, writing grocery lists, measuring ingredients and food preparation supports their learning of math, reading, writing and science!

Kid-friendly recipes
Try out one of our new kid-friendly recipes! They are easy to prepare and fun to eat:

Make healthy meals with Canada’s food guide plate
Canada’s food guide plate has a new webpage and videos. Learn how the plate can be a reference tool for healthy eating for you and your family.
Press Releases
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Guelph Family Health Study launches cookbook aimed at cutting food waste (Guelph, ON, September 24, 2019)
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The Helderleigh Foundation enters into a multi-year partnership with Ophea to expand food literacy in Ontario elementary schools (Toronto, ON, July 8, 2019)
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The Helderleigh Foundation teams with George Brown to advance Toronto nutrition literacy (Toronto, ON, March 8, 2019)
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The Helderleigh Foundation continues to support George Brown College, funding two new projects for innovative nutrition and healthy eating (Toronto, ON, October 26, 2017)
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George Brown College’s first five funded nutrition and healthy eating projects completed (Toronto, ON, June 28, 2017)
Announcing Aim2Be
Childhood Obesity Foundation announces the availability of Aim2Be; two apps-one for parents and one for kids 10+, providing proven strategies and small steps towards a healthier life. To learn more and to access the apps: www.Aim2Be.ca

Research Findings
Media Literacy & Food Marketing - Lesson Plans
Many packaged food products found in supermarkets today are specifically designed to appeal to children. They range from dinosaur-shaped processed cheese, fruit gushers, and yogurt tubes to Dino-egg “hatching” oatmeal. They can sell the story of the product and highlight key attributes, but they don’t necessarily reflect the overall nutritional value. For this you need to examine the Nutrition Facts Table and ingredient list of each product. Charlene Elliott, PhD, Canada Research Chair, Food Marketing, Policy and Children’s Health, Meaghan Brierley PhD and their team at the University of Calgary have introduced a series of lesson plans, fact sheets and e-book to help parents, guardians and educators understand how children view and interpret packaged foods. These materials are part of the media literacy initiative for the Alberta school curriculum. They were based on focus groups and surveys with over 600 children, attending grades one thru nine. This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS). Special thank you to the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH).
Food & Beverage Label Information - Challenging to Understand
Creating Healthier Food Environments in Canada - Current Policies and Priority Actions
Policy action is needed from governments to shift the food environment towards one that can promote healthy diets. This is the overall finding from more than 70 non- government experts from 44 universities and non-government and professional organizations across Canada.
The Food EPI Canada study lead by Dr. Lana Vanderlee and Dr. Mary L’Abbe at the University of Toronto used the Food Environment Policy Index tool developed by the International Network for Food & Obesity to examine the state of food environment policy in Canada compared to internationally established good practices.
Nutrition related behaviours are now the greatest contributor to mortality in Canada. Changes, both large and incremental are necessary to help Canadians eat healthy. Read here
Canada is a Leading Source of Research on Food Literacy
Canada leads the way when it comes to food literacy research: a scoping review examining definitions of food literacy found that Canadian studies were most frequently represented (39% of total literature reviewed, n=67) [1]. When it comes to the barriers to implementing food literacy concepts and programs, a recent review found that Canada was also the leading source of literature on that topic at 39% of included studies (n=38, including peer-reviewed, emergent, and grey literature). In the barriers literature reviewed (for all countries), adults were the most commonly studied (42%), followed by adolescents (32%) and children (24%). These studies examined food literacy implementation at the individual (37%), school (37%), and community (26%) levels [2].
Overall, the review identified 88 individual barriers to food literacy, across the three levels of food literacy adoption. Barriers were also reported in multiple categories, including: knowledge, attitudes, skills/abilities, resources, and environmental conditions. In all three cases, lack of resources was the leading category of barriers limiting food literacy proficiency (29% at the individual level, 42% at the school level, and 43% at the community level) [2].
[1] Truman, E., Lane, D., & Elliott, C. (2017). Defining food literacy: A scoping review. Appetite 116, 365-371. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.007
[2] Truman, E. & Elliott, C. (2019). Barriers to food literacy: a conceptual model to explore factors inhibiting proficiency. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 51(1), 107-111. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.08.008