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Providing healthy food options is one way to help build a healthy school community.
Many schools have taken the initiative to promote and improve healthy eating and active living habits within their communities. With support from Communities ChooseWell, a free program of the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, school communities have strengthened community wellness by making the healthy choice the easier choice for all students.
Since the program began in 2005, many schools across Alberta have received awards and grants for their efforts to improve the health and well-being of their community members. Clandonald School is a great example of that.
In October 2016, Clandonald School, a grades 1–6 elementary school east of Edmonton, received a Communities ChooseWell Healthy Community Award for developing healthy policies. They achieved this by creating an action plan that listed measurable goals, focusing on improving eating habits and physical activity within the school, explained Anita Datchuk, Clandonald School’s health champion coordinator.
These action plan goals were used by the health champions group (students, staff, parents and community members) to create and improve on school initiatives that were meant to promote healthy eating habits and physical activity within the school. Clandonald implemented many programs to support these initiatives.
A healthy breakfast program was implemented whereby any student could enjoy breakfast in a social environment. This initiative was valuable since many students had a long commute to school. With the help of a local catering company, Clandonald School was able to serve weekly hot lunches to all students, and with assistance and dedication from various partnerships and volunteers, these programs ran year-around.
Vegetable smoothies were made for students on special occasions. This added to Clandonald’s healthy school culture. Program leaders were able to further the knowledge of students during lunch breaks; they coached students about healthy eating habits through healthy eating programs and informative bulletin boards that were displayed in the lunchroom.
The program also introduced a variety of infused water choices. School-grown herbs, vegetables and fruit were added to the students’ water bottles, and they were encouraged to get creative by combining a variety of things. More importantly, encouraging them to drink water instead of other drinks improved their health.
Additionally, the students grew the fruits and vegetables used in the programs.
“We introduced garden beds and apple trees … we are currently eating carrots that were brought in from garden beds planted over the summer by our school families,” Datchuk said.
The health champions group was in charge of implementing and following through with every health initiative. Datchuk explained that it was very helpful for Clandonald to have an action plan to keep them on track. This tool was and continues to be valuable as it helps reflect and validate the health champions group’s efforts to build a healthy school community. Datchuk also identified how developing partnerships with other organizations is a big key to success. For a small school of only 29 students, these partnerships have provided resources and opportunities that have made the school environment healthier.
