Impacts of Food Education Programs for Kids, and Opportunities to Fill Gaps in Knowledge
Posted: July 9, 2014
Categories: Edible Education Network / GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Ontario / Research
Credit: Growing Good Food Ideas video from NAN’s Get Growing Project.
The University of Guelph’s Research Shop has just released the report “Opportunities to Fill the Gaps in Knowledge About the Impacts of Food Education for Children and Youth in Ontario” in partnership with Sustain Ontario’s Edible Education Network.
This study undertook a comprehensive literature review to explore the question, “What documented evidence exists to support the impacts of food education on the health and wellbeing of children and youth in Ontario?” The study also tried to get a better understanding of what gaps exist in the published evidence.
It was found that there is a lack of both qualitative and quantitative studies that capture the impacts of food education in Ontario. The information that has been published mainly outlines the challenges that children and youth experience relating to their health and well-being, rather than describing food education programs and their benefits. This is certainly an area that would benefit from more study and documentation.
At the same time, there is a lot of evidence from the United States and internationally that can be referenced to demonstrate the benefits that food education can achieve in Ontario.
The report provides a summary of the studies that were found, as well as a list of quotes that can be referenced when making the case for food education programming.