March is Nutrition Month and the EMSB plans to Unlock the Potential of Food

March is Nutrition Month all across Canada and in celebrating this, Nutrition and Food Services at the English Montreal School Board has prepared various nutrition activities. The national theme for this year’s campaign is to Unlock the Potential of Food to fuel activities, inspire children, improve health and bring people together. This campaign aims to promote healthy eating habits on a daily basis by promoting nutrition awareness and increasing nutrition knowledge.  Visit www.nutritionmonth2022.ca for more information.

To commemorate nutrition, in-class activities which orient students to read and better understand nutrition labels are in full swing in the East Sector elementary schools. Animated by an EMSB dietitian these “READ WHAT YOU EAT” activities are building blocks for our kindergarten to 6 students for better nutrition knowledge and making healthy food choices.

Cook, Eat & Be Happy! Cooking Workshops are also underway! Les ateliers 5 épices has been selected by the School Board to conduct these workshops during class time in collaboration with EMSB dietitians. These four-part workshops will include a preparatory activity, hands-on recipe preparation, an educational game and tasting of the recipe. Students will develop foundational culinary skills, such as identifying different utensils as well as reading and following a recipe. Student will have the opportunity to explore their taste buds and discover new ingredients as they prepare a delicious fruit salsa! This experience helps young students develop culinary skills and inspires them to foster healthy eating habits. Truly, an exciting realm for nutrition education!

In high schools, the nutrition program entitled “EAT RIGHT FEEL BRIGHT” will take place in the form of in-class sessions geared towards secondary one, two and three students in Physical Education and Health classes.  The aim is to encourage healthy lifestyles through good nutrition and physical activity and to sensitize students to the social influences on their perception of health and well-being.  The aim is to help high school students identify areas of their eating habits that require change and develop strategies to improve food choices, improve lifestyle habits and increase their nutritional knowledge.