Fuel Up For Fun Wins National Food And Healthy Living Award

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 08 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Dietitians of Canada and Kraft Canada have announced the winners of the 12th annual Speaking of Food and Healthy Living Award - an annual competition designed to showcase and encourage collaborative efforts that help Canadians make informed choices about healthy eating and physical activity.

In the award ceremony held yesterday at the Dietitians of Canada annual meeting in Charlottetown, PEI, The Fuel Up For Fun program, from Central and Southern Ontario, was selected as this year's national winner. Fuel Up For Fun is a series of four-page magazine-style resources created to help children develop knowledge, healthy behaviours and positive attitudes regarding healthy eating and physical activity. Each seasonally-themed issue incorporates five to seven fun and simple activities, from recipes for healthy snacks, to instruction for how to plan a winter festival to healthy eating and living coupons kids can share with parents.

"This year's national award recipient is another great example of a fun, simple program that helps get Canadians on the right track to healthier living," says Thida Ith, Corporate Communications Manager, Dietitians of Canada. "We are proud to have participated for so many years, in an award program that supports helping build a healthier Canada."

The Dietitians of Canada and Kraft Canada Speaking of Food and Healthy Living Award: Excellence in Consumer Communication was created in 1998 in response to the report Speaking of Food and Healthy Eating: A Consumer Perspective, which indicated that Canadians wanted to eat healthier but were confused by conflicting and difficult-to-apply nutrition messages.

"Many of the winning programs this year were targeted at children and youth," says Kate Slater, Senior Manager, Health and Nutrition Communications, Kraft Canada. "These programs underscore the importance of setting the stage in the early years for making lifelong healthy choices."

As well as this year's national award winner, three other programs received regional awards for their unique, effective approach to eating and physical activity challenges faced by Canadians. Regional award winners include:

- British Columbia: The Health Check BC Dining Program serves to improve the health of British Columbians by making healthy choices simple choices for restaurant diners.

- Alberta and the Territories: Healthy Preschoolers; A Guide to Writing Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies & Procedures is a manual designed to support preschools, daycares and early childhood programs in creating healthy environments for children (ages 2 - 5).

- Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and North-Western Ontario: Nutrition Positive offers tools and resources designed to positively impact awareness, education and behaviour surrounding nutritious eating at elementary and high schools in Saskatoon and surrounding areas.

For more information on these programs, please visit http://www.dietitians.ca/news/campaigns_food.asp.

About Kraft Canada

Kraft Canada Inc. one of Canada's leading food and beverage companies, recognizes the importance of healthy living and provides consumers with a wide range of food choices, and practical healthy eating and physical activity information. Visit Kraft Canada's website at www.kraftcanada.com. Select Healthy Living, Nutrition Update for Professionals or Diabetes pages for further information

Source
Dietitians of Canada