Comprehensive Nutrition Interventions in First Nation-Operated Schools in Canada

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
• Main Authors: Gillies, Christina, Blanchet, Rosanne, Gokiert, Rebecca, Farmer, Anna, Willows, Noreen D.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Autochtones; First Nations; Indigenous; Premières Nations; intervention; nutrition; review; revue; school; école; Canada
• Online Access: https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/comprehensive-nutrition-interventions-in-first-nation-operated-sc; https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2021-039

Comprehensive school-based nutrition interventions offer a promising strategy to support healthy eating for First Nations children. A targeted strategic review was performed to identify nutrition interventions in 514 First Nation-operated schools across Canada through their websites. Directed content analysis was used to describe if interventions used 1 or more of the 4 components of the Comprehensive School Health (CSH) framework. Sixty schools had interventions. Nearly all (n = 56, 93%) schools offered breakfast, snack, and (or) lunch programs (social and physical environment). About one-third provided opportunities for students to learn about traditional healthy Indigenous foods and food procurement methods (n = 18, 30%) (teaching and learning) or facilitated connections between the school and students' families or the community (n = 16, 27%) (partnerships and services). Few schools (n = 10, 17%) had a nutrition policy outlining permitted foods (school policy). Less than 1% (n = 3) of interventions included all 4 CSH components. Results suggest that most First Nation-operated schools provide children with food, but few have nutrition interventions that include multiple CSH components. First Nation-operated schools may require additional financial and (or) logistical support to implement comprehensive school-based nutrition interventions, which have greater potential to support long-term health outcomes for children than single approaches.