Help students learn about eating well.

Research has shown that the more foods an individual is familiar with, the more varied one’s diet will be. Variety is key to good nutrition. .Our team is dedicated to making sure kids are taught what it means to be healthy in an age appropriate way and the importance of eating a wide variety of foods to support overall health.  Because we know that hands-on experiences with food really do help students learn the best, BC Dairy farmers offer annual  Mini Food Grants to support teachers in bringing foods into the classroom.  

Father watching his daughters eat cereal.

Our commitment.

With BC Dairy’s education programs, you will meet BC curriculum goals using up to date research on food, feeding, and nutrition. Our priority is to ensure you feel confident teaching our programs and you have all the teacher resources and student materials you need, year after year.  Provincial and national feeding guidelines and professional standards outlined by the College of Dietitians of BC guide our team’s work and their commitment to health and nutrition education.

Our approach.

We require a free one-hour workshop before teaching our programs in order to learn about program materials, how to deliver the content,and about additional resources available for use in your classroom.  Depending on the program, workshops will be available online and can be taken at your own pace, or available in-person upon request. We want to make sure you have all the resources, tools, and information you need to teach our programs year after year.

After  completing the workshop, you can order program materials through our education portal at no cost. Each year,order new student materials, for free. 

Available programs.

BC Dairy’s nutrition education programs for the K-12 years make it easy to teach nutrition using BC’s new curriculum. Teachers everywhere in BC can participate in professional development sessions to get colourful materials and great ideas for making nutrition come alive in the classroom.

Login for educators.

Educators—create or access your BC Dairy portal account to reorder program materials, access additional resources and apply for Mini Food Grants.

young teacher enrolling to a bc dairy workshop online

Nutrition education lesson plans.

Check out our free, ready-to-use nutrition education lesson plans for your classroom. We offer fun and interactive lesson plans for all grade levels.

Mindful Eating

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For every grade level.

Students will explore the concept of mindfulness and will have the opportunity to participate in a mindful eating activity. Mindful eating is noticing how, what, where, when and why we eat. Practicing this skill helps us to understand how we feel, and how that can affect the food choices we make. Mindful eating connects physical, emotional and mental well-being, and increases awareness of the social and environmental factors influencing eating habits. A mindful eating approach can also be used during any eating opportunity, including lunchtime, snacks and any classroom lesson plan that involves food tasting. For lesson plans that use food, refer to our list of lesson plans here. Estimated time: 40-50 minutes Food costs: less than $5 Mindful Eating Lesson Plan

Mystery Food Activity

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For students from Preschool to Grade 8

Students will have the opportunity to explore food and identify its sensory properties through a classic, engaging activity. Foods common to BC are best suited for this activity. Estimated time: ~30 minutes Estimated food cost: $10-15 (depends on chosen ingredients) Mystery Food Activity Lesson Plan

Little Riddles

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For Grades 2-3

In this lesson, students will explore food and develop language arts skills by creating and sharing riddles. Students can solve the two sample riddles in the lesson, then write their own food riddle and have classmates solve the riddle. Estimated time: 30 minutes Little Riddles Lesson Plan

Food Guide Scavenger Hunt

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For Grade 6 and up

In January 2019, Health Canada released the new food guide, “an online suite of resources…that encourages Canadians to eat healthy whenever and wherever they go.” Since its release, the food guide Snapshot (or “healthy eating plate”) has been given a lot of attention. However, when it comes to healthy eating, Health Canada has said this picture is just the tip of the iceberg. This activity allows students to benefit from diving below media headlines to think critically about whether those messages accurately reflect Canada’s dietary guidelines. Students will explore healthy eating habits and increase their digital health literacy. Estimated Time: about 1 hour, plus time for review and discussion. Lesson PlanStudent Worksheet
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