Nourishing School Communities: From School Nutrition Policies to Reality
When public-private partnerships work towards healthier school food.

Nourishing School Communities is a collaborative, evidence- based initiative that aims to give school children across Canada a fresh new perspective on food. Our partners are working together towards a brighter healthier future by engaging First Nations schools, public schools and after-school facilities. We are supporting school communities with tools and resources to make important changes to their school environments – changes that aim to shift policies and practices in a way that makes healthy eating easy, accessible and accepted.

Join Mary McKenna, PhD, RD and Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick, Ruthie Burd also known as the Lunch Lady, Devon Peart, RD and Katie Jessop RD as they provide an overview of the current scope of school food nutrition policy across Canada and discuss how to translate theory into reality with school lunch providers.

Learning Objectives

• Provide an overview of the Nourishing School Communities initiative and current provincial school nutrition policies in Canada.
• Present two case studies of private school lunch providers using the current provincial school nutrition policies in Canada.
• Explore learnings from working with school food providers through public/private partnerships.

Background Resources

• Nourishing School Communities
• The Lunch Lady
• School Nutrition Policy in Ontario: Current Gaps and Potential Opportunities for Public Health
• Beyond Nutrition and Health: Measuring the Impact of Feeding the Future Student Nutrition Program
  

Meet Our Presenter

Mary McKenna, PhD, RD, is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton and a Registered Dietitian. She teaches courses in nutrition and health promotion, conducts research on school nutrition policies, and advocates for healthy eating in schools and other settings. Current projects include the Nourishing School Communities CLASP project, and Raising the Bar on Student Nutrition, an initiative of Food Secure Canada. She has spent most of her career working at UNB, except for her time at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) working as a Health Scientist.

Ruthie Burd, is the founder and President of the Lunch Lady. She has come a long way for someone who grew up avoiding the kitchen. Back in 1993 Ruthie was looking for ways to supplement the family income in anticipation of her son’s autism related therapies. After a slow start, the idea grew and Ruthie started franchising the concept across Canada in 2001. Franchised originally as a business tied to the school year, the Lunch Lady is now transitioning into a year round provider, adding additional programs for Camps, Day Cares, Seniors and the Workplace as the reputation of the Brand grows and franchise partners express interest in additional opportunities. www.thelunchlady.ca

Devon Peart is a Registered Dietitian. She has a Masters in Community Nutrition from the University of Toronto, and as part of her Masters she completed the Collaborative Program in Women's Studies. Devon is a consulting dietitian with Nourishing School Communities, a Huffington Post blogger and a regular contributor to Restaurant Central.ca. Devon worked for six and a half years for the former Health Check program at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, first as Business Development Manager for the national foodservice program, and then as Program Manager for the ON Health Check Restaurant Program. In the past, Devon has provided nutrition counseling in individual and group settings, facilitated workplace nutrition education, and worked in health promotion in a hospital setting.

Follow Devon on Twitter at @DevonP_RD

Read her blog at http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/devon-peart/

Katie Jessop is a Registered Dieitian who worked for many years for the Health Check program at the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Recently, she initiated Katie Jessop and Associates, specializing in the development of nutrition portfolios for the food industry. Services include nutrition analysis of food products, recipes and menus, allergen reviews and menu revisioning. Her passion for emerging nutritional and food science results in a strong connection between where food comes from and its impact on the body.

Have you successfully worked with school lunch providers to improve the nutrition environment at your local school?

Share your experiences with @NutritionRC using #nrc_nourishingschools