Description

Early childhood is an important time to lay the groundwork for a healthy start for life. To contribute to the growing body of applied research on the development of healthy habits, The Nutrition Resource Centre at the Ontario Public Health Association collaborated with the Greenbelt Fund on a research project in partnership with the Food Innovation & Research Studio (FIRSt) at George Brown College (GBC) and the Helderleigh Foundation.

This webinar will highlight the findings of this research project, which investigated the knowledge, attitudes and awareness of local food use and food literacy, among food suppliers and caterers and key influencers of young children in Ontario. Results of an environmental scan of food literacy tools and resources being used to educate food providers and educators in early childhood settings as well as the resources used and supports needed to educate children and their parents and caregivers about local foods and healthy eating will be shared. These results can be used for future planning to promote the use of local food and food literacy activities in early child settings.

This webinar will also showcase a local public health program that has incorporated local food and food literacy into their child care and SNP. This story from the field will spark discussion about the challenges, barriers, and successes of local food literacy programming for children, and provide examples for other communities to learn from.