The Northwestern Health Unit provides a number of food and nutrition programs and resources to promote healthy eating according to Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide. If you have a question about healthy eating or nutrition, ask a registered dietitian.
We provide nutrition support, consultations, and have reliable nutrition information available for the following topics.
Eating Well in the Early Years: Feeding your young child can be overwhelming. If you are looking for information about feeding children from 6 months through the preschool years, feel free to contact us.
Food at School: Whether at school or at home, lunch is an important pit stop for children. Find out what makes a healthy and safe lunch and tips to create lunches kids will munch.
For Teachers: If you are looking for up-to-date food and nutrition curriculum based resources and information about school gardens, farm-to-school connections, school meal and snack program support, healthy fundraisers, or food as a reward please contact us.
For School Boards and Principals:
Interested in comprehensive school health and healthy food at school? Contact us for information and resources related to healthy school food policy, trans fats, cafeterias/vending machines, and school meal and snack programs.
If you are looking for information about nutrition promotion in the workplace and healthy workplace policies, check out HealthWorks - a program available through the Northwestern Health Unit to help workplaces and the people that work in them - be healthier.
Whether money is tight or you'd like to tighten the food budget, we have information that will help you stretch your food dollar.
Every year since 1998 the Northwestern Health Unit has surveyed grocery stores in each of our communities to find out the cost of a healthy food basket. The food basket now represents the cost of 67 basic healthy food items. It does not include all foods or non-food items like toiletries. People also need some cooking skills and facilities to prepare meals with foods in the basket.
Food baskets are a convenient way to track the cost of basic foods over time. The results can be used to help people budget for food and to advocate for ways to make food more affordable, like higher minimum wage and social assistance rates, more affordable housing, and quality subsidized child care.
Buying food locally is good for you, good for the community and good for the environment. Learn more about the benefits of local foods and where to get local foods in Northwestern Ontario.
There are many programs to help people access healthy food in our communities.
For more information contact:
Chelsea LeCain, RD
Public Health Dietitian
(807) 468-3147 ext. 243