Healthy School Lunch Parent Information Night

OHEA was invited by the St. Elizabeth A. Seton School Parent Council, in the Ottawa area, to present ideas for healthy school lunch options to parents at their Parent Engagement Workshop on November 16th. Lucky for us, Mary Carver, P.H.Ec, and Linda Reasbeck, P.H.Ec., both from the Ottawa Home Economics Association (and OHEA) volunteered to help.

Mary covered food literacy, the online OHEA petition, status of Canada's Food Guide, tips/tricks for lunches, information about OHEA, where to find credible nutrition information, getting kids in the kitchen to cook real food. This was followed by a Question and Answer period.
 
Linda had a hands-on exhibit with samples of lunch containers, healthy mini-muffins to sample, fruit and veggie kabobs, hard-cooked eggs, lean meat, whole grains etc. and presented with the help of a capable and keen male student - it was great fun. Emphasis was on healthy, quick to assemble, fun and colourful real food that kids will eat – not discard. Minimizing salt, sugar, fat and and overly processed foods.
 
Handouts included:

• Dairy Farmers of Canada info on feeding kids, calcium intake, Canada's Food Guide, healthy snacks;
  
• Six by Sixteen information cards
  
• Food Literacy – a Lifetime Commitment media release
  
• 2 muffin recipes. Pumpkin Oatmeal from Homegrown and a  recipe from Light-hearted Everyday Cooking, A. Lindsay; Blueberry Muffins – Quinoa Cookbook (with Whitecap permission)
• a list of reliable online resources including, OHEA, Food Literacy site,  DC, Foodland Ontario, Yummy Lunch Club, Healthy Kids, Health Canada, Six by Sixteen and more.
  

A big thank you to Mary Carver, P.H.Ec., and Linda Reasbeck, P.H.Ec., for making this such a successful event. Information submitted by Mary Carver, P.H.Ec.