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Developing a Healthy Choices Policy

Creating a policy helps to formalize your healthy choices goals.

Whether you are developing a new policy or reassessing and updating an existing nutrition policy there are a number of key areas you should consider. The following includes ideas for what to include in your policy.

Food Provision

  • Request for Proposals for food-related services should require bidders to agree to meet any healthy eating guidelines adopted by the facilty.
  • Food and beverage options that support healthy eating should be subsidized.
  • Food and beverage options that support healthy eating should be provided at an equal or lower price in vending machines.
  • Healthy eating options sold in facilities or communities should be labelled to help identify them as the healthy option (e.g. indicate with a checkmark).
  • Healthy eating options should be positioned to promote visibility.
  • The marketing of unhealthy eating options through company sponsorship should not be allowed within the facility or community.

Program and Events

  • Foods and beverages are discouraged as a reward in programs provided by the recreation centre and staff.
  • Foods and beverages provided for programs on site should meet any healthy eating guidelines adopted or established by the facility or community.
  • Foods served at special events hosted in the facility should meet the healthy eating guidelines.
  • Children should be provided a comfortable, calm environment in which to eat meals while participating in programs.

Staff

  • Food at internal staff meetings must meet the facility or community healthy guidelines.
  • Food at official staff social gatherings and training events must meet the healthy guidelines.
  • Staff must be provided with a place to refrigerate and heat food brought from home.
  • Staff must be given training on how to appropriately encourage healthy snacks to be brought from home.

Other areas for consideration

  • Percentage of foods available from each category of the Nutrient Criteria;
  • Pricing;
  • Packaging;
  • Eating environment (e.g. seating, fresh water fountains);
  • Food access (e.g. community gardens, pocket markets, snack programs);
  • Contract criteria for vendors;
  • Sponsorship and advertising;
  • Timelines for compliance; and
  • Monitoring (e.g. spot checks).

 

Here is a list of question to help guide the development of your healthy choices policy:

You can also view sample policies from other communities to help you with this process.