WHAT WE DO

The Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba (CNCM) is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to improve the nutritional health and well-being of Manitoba school children through education, funding and promotion of Best Practices.

The Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba, formerly the Manitoba Council on Child Nutrition was established in 2001. The work of the Council complements the goals of the Manitoba Government's Healthy Schools initiative "to create school environments that enhance the healthy development of children and their families by working in partnership with community resources and service providers." Over the past eight years, CNCM has raised awareness about nutrition issues and the need for food and nutrition policies in schools and helped guide decision-makers in developing those policies. Our presentations to nutritionists and dietitians, trustees, schools staff and parents in Manitoba have helped shape school and community nutrition policies.

 COUNCIL REPRESENTATION

Manitoba School Boards Association	Manitoba Association of Parent Councils
Community Nutritionists working with RHAs	Dietitians of Canada
Dairy Farmers of Manitoba	Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba
School Administrators	First Nations representation
Financial Industry Services sector	Community members

SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

Nourishment Programs

Ensuring that children have access to healthy food choices in an important part of supporting a healthy eating environment and a major priority for CNCM. The Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba is a recognized voice for issues regarding school based nutrition programs in Manitoba. CNCM administers grants for school and community-based nutritious breakfast, snack and lunch programs across Manitoba.

Awareness and Education
We provide training for Program Nutrition Coordinators to help them become familiar with the best practices of nutrition program management. The training sessions focus on nutrition education, and helpful resources to support all aspects of organizing and running a program. Networking and sharing stories and ideas with other coordinators is always a highlight of these sessions.

Workshops

 
CNCM participates as a member of the Manitoba School Nutrition Support Team to support the implementation of provincial nutrition guidelines and healthy eating initiatives. This support includes interactive workshops for divisions, schools, school health teams, students, parents and health professionals.

 
 
 
 
Examples of workshop topics include:

• Update on the latest Canada Food Guide
• Label reading
• Reinventing your canteen, cafeteria
• Success stories in your region

CNCM Newsletter
This is a new initiative to feature nutrition tips for schools and to share program ideas.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Student Leadership Awards
These awards, initiated at the Youth Session at the 2005 Nutrition Forum, acknowledge the importance of student involvement. Schools receive grants of $300 towards a project identified by a student-led team, which supports healthy eating initiatives. Schools are required to match funds in order to qualify for an award. Partners for this project include Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Dietitians of Canada, and the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba.

Healthy Vending Project

This project looked at the availability, acceptability and feasibility of providing healthy alternatives for sale in school vending machines. Each of the eleven demonstration school chose a combination of vending products to be sold in their school and the product sales were tracked. The project's vendor partner, Quality Vending, facilitated vending of Milk To Go™ and healthy snack alternatives for the demonstration schools.

Partnerships
School Nutrition Support Team. CNCM works in partnership with the Dietitians for Canada, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba and Manitoba Health and Healthy Living as part of the School Nutrition Support Team to assist schools in developing optimal healthy nutrition environments for students and staff.

CNCM is a participating member with Health Food Matters Manitoba.

INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Distribution of over $1,250,000 to nourishment programs in Manitoba since 2001.
• Food and Nutrition in Manitoba School Survey Report 2001
• Canadian Home and School National School Health Award for 2002
• Creation and delivery of presentation on policy development for schools and divisions, 2003
• Establishment of Student Leadership Award for student-led initiatives to improve school nutrition environments, 2005
• Involvement in Healthy School Nutrition Pilot Project with several Winnipeg S.D schools 2005-2007
• Fruit and Vegetable pilot project with Red Sucker Lake School in partnership with First Nation Inuit Health, 2007
• Fruit and Vegetable Snack Pilot Project in 13 schools in Manitoba with funding through a bilateral agreement with the Province and the Public Health Agencies of Canada.