Nutrition education program improves students’ food choices in 10 lessons.
We’re thrilled to share some great news! Verita Strategy Group Inc. recently released their report on the BC Dairy Association’s Food for Us nutrition education program, which is taught in BC schools to Grade 2 and 3 students. The goal of the program is to teach kids how they can make healthy choices based on Canada’s Food Guide recommendations. The results showed that after completing the program, children had more balanced lunches that included all four food groups.
Furthermore, six to nine weeks after taking the program, over 90% of the students could name and classify foods by food group—skills that are essential for planning balanced meals and choosing healthy snacks. We were also pleasantly surprised to see that parents started packing balanced lunches for their kids, suggesting kids were sharing what they learned with their parents at home and showing a third party effect of the program on parents as well. Kids that ate meals at home had more balanced lunches—an unexpected, but positive finding from our evaluation.
It’s very exciting to know that we are making a difference through the programs we offer at BC Dairy Association, and that we are meeting the goals we have set out to achieve!
