Check us out on YouTube: School Food Development Project
Menus & Recipes
- Monthly menu plans from Maskwacis Education Commission's universal school meal program
- A 14-day menu plan incorporating recipes from Chef Jenni Lessard
- Chef Jenni's modern, indigenous-inspired recipes - Bison Calzones, Three Sisters Cookies, Whole Wheat Bannock, Fruit Leather
- A one month menu plan from Flourish! BC's program
Wild Food Resources
- Wild plant foraging information available from Northern Bushcraft
- Alberta Health Guidelines for serving wild game in community programs.
- In Alberta, wild game shared in schools must be carefully tracked - the hunter, food storage facility, and school must maintain food safety standards and complete a tracking form such as this one from Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority.
Come to the Table: Exploring School Food Together
On October 27-28, 2022, the School Food Development Project hosted the Come to the Table gathering, bringing together our project partners to learn, share and be inspired by stories of successful school food programs.
- Guest Speaker Presentations - Tanya Senk (with Joanna Simon), Scott Hall, Courtney Wheelton, Derek Cotton, Jenni Lessard, Rachel Engler-Stringer
- The Holistic Framework and Planning resource used at Come to the Table was shared with the SFDP by Meadow Lake Tribal Council. Copyright Ceclia Deschambault 2021.
- Come to the Table Final Report - includes discussion summaries, event menu, presentation summaries and other suggested resources
Other SFP Resources
- School Food Funding Sources (this resource is designed for SK schools, but many of the grants/donors listed are open to applicants from across Canada)
- Wondering how food is integrated into your school? Use this checklist adapted by the School Food Development Project from the School Food Environment Assessment Tool developed by Black et al.
- Food Mapping Activity - find out where food resources are in your community and develop food literacy among your participants. Adapted from a Food Matters Manitoba resource.
- SK Health Authority Nutrition Month Toolkit
- Health Schools BC - Teach Food First Toolkit
- Reading Nutrition Labels resource - from ISC Ontario
- The Alberta Food Security Working Group and Elder's Advisory Group made recommendations for increasing access to traditional foods in Indigenous community programs and facilities in their 2017 Food Sovereignty Declaration.
- Reconciliation Saskatoon's BeAConnectR Indigenous Food Resources
- Ontario Dieticians in Public Health created this Nurturing Healthy Eaters handout which provides information on encouraging students to make healthy food choices.
- Training and retention of staff is a key component of sustainable school food programs. Maskwacis Education Commission has gratiously shared their Employee Handbook for Universal School Food Strategy Staff to act as a model for other schools/division and encourage the development of robust, sustainable policies and procedures.
- At Maskwacis Education high schools, students assist with school meal preparation and service and can earn Food Ventures 10, 20, 30 credits. Assessment Rubric
Literature, Articles and Newsletters
Some great books:
- School Food, Equity and Social Justice: Critical Reflections and Perspectives by Dorte Ruge, Irene Torres, Darren Powell
- The School Food Revolution: Public Food and the Challenge of Sustainable Development by Kevin Morgan & Roberta Sonnino
- Food Sovereignty in Canada: Creating Just and Sustainable Food Systems edited by Annette Aurélie Desmarais, Nettie Wiebe and Hannah Wittman (read an excerpt here)
Relevant blogs, reports, news and journal articles:
- Social Determinants of Health Inequities in Indigenous Canadians Through a Life Course Approach to Colonialism and the Residential School System by Paul J. Kim
- Oh, Canada! Our Kids Deserve Better - UNICEF report
- Are school meals a viable and sustainable tool to improve the healthiness and sustainability of children´s diet and food consumption? A cross-national comparative perspective by M. Oostindjer et al.
- The Need for Culturally-Informed Approaches to Food Security by Tom Ndekezi
- Beyond Health and Nutrition: Reframing School Food Programs Through Integrated Food Pedegogies by Barbara Parker & Mario Koeppel
- Arrell Food Institute's School Food and Nutrition Report
- Why Food Sovereignty Matters - US Department of the Interior (an American resource, but still relevant to a Canadian context in many ways)