Back to school is a great opportunity to get young people to roll up their sleeves for some hands-on cooking experience and to adopt a healthy diet at the start of the school year.

Nourishing Your Roots is the revamped version of the nutrition education program in elementary schools in First Nations communities in Quebec, which has arrived just in time for the start of the school year. Available free of charge, in French and English, it will allow children to learn about food and share their knowledge with their families. The program aims to develop cooking skills and a taste for healthy foods in First Nations children, in a fun and simple setting, while contributing to their overall health.

Four objectives make up the themes of the workshops:

• Discovering and enjoying nutritious foods.
• Promoting traditional foods.
• Developing cooking skills.
• Adopting healthy eating habits.

With a view to offering as many activities as possible, each theme features three workshops. Four workshops can therefore be selected over the course of the year among the twelve offered. There is something for all ages since the program includes a binder per grade level, from kindergarten to grade six.

Educational materials

The educational materials necessary for holding the workshops are provided. Included are:

• Seven binders
• Game cards
• PowerPoint presentations
• Links to videos
• Recipes that can be printed out
• Additional sheets
• And more!

The kitchen equipment and food needed for certain workshops must be provided by the school or facility organizing the activities.

Teachers and anyone wishing to get involved in fostering the wellness of their students (e.g., nutritionists, dietetic technicians, school nurses) are encouraged to implement the program in their classrooms. It was designed for elementary schools, but the turnkey workshops can be used in youth centres, day camps or for any other extracurricular activities.

For our young people

Our greatest wish is for the program to be used by communities to promote healthy eating among young people, while facilitating the work of teachers or workers who wish to set up workshops on nutrition. The implementation of this program in the communities will help develop food literacy in young people, which means fostering the acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary for lifelong healthy eating.

Cooking, discovering flavours and tasting food with other students: fun is on the menu! For support or more information on the program, please do not hesitate to write to us at info@cssspnql.com or to call us at 418-842-1540.