To date (2023), Nutrition and Food Education is not a mandatory or robust, dedicated curriculum in K-12 education across Canada. Central to the goal of good health and well-being and access to care, is ensuring access to accurate, sound knowledge for all. Many non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes and hypertension, are preventable. These conditions are diagnosed later in life despite signals of risk being present decades earlier. Accurate, sound knowledge about nutrition and food can help individuals and communities improve their health and quality of life.

 

It is critical that all Canadians have access to knowledge about how to eat well, how to access food, how to prepare food, and to learn how their food environments can impact their health. Access to knowledge ensures that all Canadians can start early in life to learn and practice skills that benefit them, as well as their families, and communities.

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Nutrition and Food Literacy Canada is the first national initiative that brings partners together across disciplines and perspectives to execute this novel

2-pronged vision for upstream teacher trainer education and certification in nutrition and food literacy, and a mirrored integrated nutrition and food literacy education, weaved through subjects across K-12 curriculum. The vision calls for: 

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1. The co-creation of an ‘interwoven’ curriculum for K-12 students on nutrition and food literacy. This curriculum will be ‘stitched’ into the existing curriculum across all grades and subjects, and will include recorded modules/lesson plans and assessments that support the teaching and learning of fundamental nutrition and food literacy concepts. The design of these lesson plans and assessments with associated video modules offers some degree of in-service teacher training, and flexibility for connecting to existing subject curriculum.

2. The co-creation of a teacher’s certificate in nutrition and food literacy (set of modules and experiential learning components) that is concise yet robust across all Canadian Teachers’ Colleges. This training will not replace the work of other professions, but rather empowers and equips teachers with core knowledge, and competencies to teach on topics related to nutrition and food literacy.  Modules will include contact information for reliable sources. The curriculum will include both standard, fundamental concept modules, as well as specialized topics that teachers can select according to their planned ‘teachables’. Additional Qualifications (AQ) can also be provided for established teachers to boost their qualifications.

 

Join this first-of-its-kind movement to educate all Canadians, starting with our children and K-12 schools, so that every child, teacher, and caregiver can be empowered to gain working knowledge of vital, life-saving skills to combat preventable conditions and live strong.

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