Programs and Services Offered - Elementary Schools

York Region Community and Health Services, Nutrition Services, works in partnership with the Elementary School Team, to promote the Healthy Schools Program.

Nutrition Services provides services and resources that will assist your school in creating a healthy nutrition environment, using a comprehensive or 'whole school approach'. This means that everyone in the school, from teachers to parents, work together to ensure students receive the same messages about healthy eating wherever lessons are taught and food is served (ie, offered and sold) – in the classroom, in the school, in the home and community.  

So whether you're a teacher, parent, school administrator, student or volunteer, getting involved in improving the food and beverage choices at your school can make a difference in students' energy, readiness to learn and overall health!

Below is a list of free nutrition services and resources available to your school. Download a list of these services and resources

Nutrition Services encourages all schools who would like to promote healthy eating and nutrition to nutrition to register for Nutrition Tools for Schools(NTS).

NTS is an online community and an interactive, web-based resource for Ontario schools. Join to get tips, tools and ideas to create a healthy nutrition environment in your school. NTS will also help your school to meet the Ontario School Food and Beverage Policy (PPM 150). Visit http://www.nutritiontoolsforschools.ca/ for more information and to register your school today!

4 for Lunch: A Healthy Lunch Challenge: This program is for grade 2 students and their families, and is offered once a year in the fall. The goal is to encourage families to pack nutritious lunches.

You're the Chef is an after school cooking program for grades 6, 7 and 8 students run by parent and teacher volunteers. Students learn how to make healthy recipes and gain basic cooking and safe food handling skills.

York Region Food for Learning is a diverse community partnership that supports school breakfast and snack programs, which enhance learning and health. York Region Food for Learning provides expertise, funding, and resources to develop and sustain student nutrition programs. For more information, visit www.foodforlearning.com.

Teacher Training and Curriculum Support - Research suggests eating behaviour is influenced by the amount of nutrition education students receive. Nutrition Services offers curriculum support resources and staff training led by a Registered Dietitian to ensure that teachers are up-to-date with the most current nutrition science.

Parent Newsletter Inserts – The Healthy Schools Program offers parent newsletter inserts on a variety of topics, including nutrition. You can also access many more parent newsletter inserts by registering your school for Nutrition Tools for Schools.

Fact sheets and Canada's Food Guide materials - Nutrition Services distributes a variety of fact sheets related to children's nutrition, and Canada's Food Guide materials. These resources are intended for use by teachers as background information, to send home with students, or to provide information for inserts in school newsletters.

Download this order form to place an order. You can also order Canada's Food Guide materials, including translated Food Guides , directly from Health Canada's Ordering System.

Access other fact sheets on a variety of nutrition topics specific to schools by visiting www.nutritiontoolsforschools.ca/pages/fact-sheets.

Food and nutrition policies to support healthy eating – Nutrition Services staff are available to consult with your school about school nutrition policies and to work towards establishing supportive environments for healthy eating. This includes consultation on school food standards to support healthy eating. Nutrition Services uses the Nutrition Tools for Schools© Nutrition Standards to help schools identify healthy food and beverages to offer or sell at school. These Standards are adapted from the Ministry of Education's School Food and Beverage Policy (P/PM 150). Schools following the NTS Nutrition Standards will be meeting and exceeding PPM 150. Contact us to request a policy consultation for your school.

Call to Action: Creating a Healthy School Nutrition Environment: This document written by the Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health, provides recommendations to support a healthy school nutrition environment.