Schools with school food programs provide an opportunity for students to access nutritious foods. Nutritious foods are critical for healthy growth and development.
When nutritious foods are offered or sold and consumed at school these can contribute to the health and wellbeing of students and help them be ready to learn and play.
How can school food programs increase students’ access to nutritious foods?
Food is a powerful tool for transmitting ancestral knowledge and connecting with history. Through it, kids learn values like respect, abundance, and generosity, enriching their entire lives.
Video: Cúagilákv (Jess Housty), Co-lead at Right Relations Collaborative.
“One of the best things about school lunch is that my kid might be exposed and more willing to try foods at school than he is at home! When he is eating a meal together with his classmates, he sees what others are eating. This gives him a new perspective and helps to build his comfort with different foods. Eating together is also a powerful form of community, and I love that my kid and his schoolmates are all offered a nutritious breakfast and lunch regardless of income or other stigmatizing criteria.”
– Anna, RN, Terrace, BC
The nutrition information provided below can support decisions around foods offered, sold, or served in schools including school food programs, school cafeterias and school events.
Offering a variety of nutritious foods, through meals and snacks throughout the day, helps students meet their nutrient needs while also allowing the flexibility to respect personal preferences, dietary needs, cultures and food traditions.
To ensure a variety of nutritious foods are offered, a school meal should ideally offer at least one choice from each of the 3 food categories from Canada’s Food Guide:
School snacks can also help students meet their daily nutrient needs. For example, some students may not eat much at a particular meal or they may require more food to support their growth and development. Ideally, a snack provides a choice of 2 food categories from Canada’s Food Guide to increase students’ opportunities to have a variety of nutrients. Examples include:
Water should be readily available to students at all times.
At meals and snacks, schools are encouraged to also offer a beverage that contains at least 25% Daily Value of calcium and is fortified with at least 10% Daily Value for Vitamin D. This can help children and teens meet their daily needs for calcium and vitamin D. Examples include:
A calcium and vitamin D fortified plant-based beverage such as soy, almond, rice, coconut, hemp, oat or pea beverage can be offered as an alternative to plain (unsweetened) pasteurized milk (0-2% MF). However, not all are fortified with the same amount of calcium and vitamin D. When choosing a fortified plant-based beverage, look for one that contains at least 25% of the daily value (DV) for calcium and 10% DV for vitamin D on the Nutrition Facts Table.
Plain fortified soy beverage is nutritionally equivalent to 2% cow’s milk and is considered a Protein food in Canada’s Food Guide. However, most other unsweetened fortified plant-based beverages are low in protein and fat even when fortified with calcium and vitamin D, and are not considered a Protein food.
When creating school menus, remember that different foods, even within the same food group, may offer different key nutrients. For example, with the Protein foods, cheese is high in calcium but low in iron while meat or lentils are high in iron but low in calcium. Offering a variety of different protein foods (plant or animal-based) throughout the school week helps children and teens meet their needs for various nutrients.
When transitioning to a healthier school menu, it may be easier to start with adding more nutritious foods in, instead of taking foods away or by offering nutritious food options alongside familiar foods. For example, offering baby carrots and plain (unsweetened) milk (0-2% MF) with a deli meat sandwich. For more ideas, visit ideas to increase nutrition.
The food lists below provide food and beverage suggestions that are based on the best available nutrition evidence to support children’s healthy growth and development. When menu planning, consider offering, selling, or serving nutritious foods from the ‘serve frequently’ section most often.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “infrequently” as placed or occurring at wide intervals in space or time. While menu planning, consider trying to offer the ‘Serve Infrequently’ foods less often. This may look different between schools. For example, if offering a 4-week menu cycle, this could look like offering the food once or twice during the cycle. If offering a 2-week menu cycle, this could look like offering the food once in the cycle.
If looking to gradually decrease the Serve Infrequently foods, one way to start can be by offering them in smaller serving sizes.
Schools are encouraged to make changes to meals and snacks when and where possible to best meet the needs of their student population.
Serve frequently:
Serve infrequently and in smaller serving sizes:
*Visit buy BC’s Guide to local, seasonal foods to find out when produce is in season in B.C.
**For examples, see: https://www.fnha.ca/Documents/Traditional_Food_Fact_Sheets.pdf
^ Dried fruit can stick to teeth and cause dental cavities. Therefore if choosing dried fruit, ensure it is served with other foods.
Serve frequently:
Serve Infrequently and in smaller serving sizes:
*Examples: small blueberry bran muffin, oatmeal berry muffin, morning glory muffin
Serve frequently:
Serve Infrequently and in smaller serving sizes:
*Work with your local Environmental Health Officer
**May be dependent on school food allergy policy
^ Other plant-based beverages, like almond and oat, are low in protein and are not part of the Protein Foods.
Serve frequently:
Serve Infrequently and in smaller serving sizes:
* Caffeine is not recommended for children under the age of 12. Even for youth over the age of 12, Health Canada’s maximum recommended intake is quite low and equivalent to about 237 mL (1 cup) of coffee or less. To learn more, visit caffeine in foods (Health Canada).
There is no need for sugar sweetened beverages to be offered, sold or served in schools. These beverages contain little to no nutrients and contain high amounts of added sugar. Beverages high in sugar also increase the risk of cavities.
Energy drinks are not recommended for children and teens because of the amount of caffeine, added sugars and other supplemental ingredients (like herbs and amino acids) they contain.
Condiments and other minor ingredients such as fats and oils and seasonings:
For example, adding cream cheese to a bagel, adding a bit of brown sugar to oatmeal, or having ketchup or ranch dip with vegetables, can make these foods more appealing to students. Since many of these items can be high in sugar, sodium or fat, it is best to offer them in small amounts and serve them on the side whenever possible.
When planning for meals or snacks, other considerations may include food allergies, supporting students with diverse abilities or incorporating Indigenous Foods. See the safety and inclusion section.
The school food program pages provide sample meal plans for Grab n’ Go, Assemble-and-Serve and Cooked-from-Scratch program models. See the recipes pages to access batch-cooking recipes suggested in the meal plans and links to more recipe ideas.
Call toll-free in B.C., 8-1-1, or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing to get personalized assistance. Speak to a navigator who can guide you to reliable health information or connect you with a health professional. Translation services are available in over 130 languages.
