This is the first in a series of youth guest blogs providing a diversity of perspectives from Canada’s young people in support of UNICEF Canada’s One Youth movement. To find out more and to sign up for our newsletter, click here. Share your views in the Government of Canada’s consultation on a Food Policy for Canada here.
by Olivia L.
When you look at your school cafeteria or the nearest “quick service” restaurants, what do you see for your lunch options? Pizza, chicken nuggets, fries, patties, or maybe a caesar salad. These food options often aren’t nutritious, yet schools preach living a healthy lifestyle including nutritious meals and daily physical activity.
According to UNICEF’s Report Card 14, one in four Canadian kids aged 11-15 is overweight. Believe it or not, obesity in kids is a form of malnutrition. Rather than the images we’re used to seeing of malnourished kids in other countries, malnutrition here in Canada sometimes involves consuming too much unhealthy food and sugary soft drinks. Obesity has been linked to many health conditions in childhood, it can lower someone’s self-esteem and can even increase the risk of heart-related diseases and diabetes in adulthood. One of the main cause of obesity is food insecurity (not enough healthy food), which is linked to poverty, the food industry and food culture. So obesity is a hard thing to avoid and a hard thing deal with when you’re a kid.
I’m starting to think about going back to school, only a few weeks away. How can schools promote and improve food security in the lives of children and youth?
I remember in my elementary school we had a breakfast program. Before the school day started, all the students could go to the cafeteria and enjoy a full meal of toast, fruit, eggs and a glass of milk. I think this was a really great program as many kids skip breakfast, yet it’s an important meal to get you energized for your day at school. My school also had a snack program. At the start of morning recess, hall monitors would drop off a bin to your classroom with snacks like apples, cheese and crackers. If a student didn’t have a lunch one day, my school would provide a lunch. These simple things helped all kids, regardless of how wealthy their parents were.
High schools could adapt culinary programs where students could volunteer to prepare school lunches. Schools could also have an active greenhouse garden where students could learn to grow their own local produce to be used in cafeteria lunches and snacks. Maybe even bring some home to help their families. Programs like these also give students opportunities to complete volunteer hours and get involved in their community.
Many kids skip breakfast, don’t bring snacks or even a packed lunch to school. Having spent a lot of time in my school cafeteria from when I was in elementary school to now in high school, I’ve seen many kids who bring lunches that are filled with overly processed food and sugary snacks with no nutritional value. Many young people are also misinformed when it comes to nutrition and healthy eating.
Having programs like my elementary school did really help children who don’t have access to enough nutritious food. If more schools would adapt meal programs like my school had, and find new ways to introduce healthy eating, I think we’d have a brighter future in children’s food security and health.
Photo by Luke Porter on Unsplash.