Food Literacy: A Crucial Concept for Public Health

1. Food Literacy in B.C. February 13, 2019 9:00-10:00 am PST Sponsored and Supported by Public Health Association of B.C. And Health Promotion & Prevention Team BC Children’s Hospital

2. Public Health Association of BC Welcome to the Webinar! Food Literacy: From Concept to Practice February 13, 2019 9 – 10 a.m. PST

3. Public Health Association of BC • PHABC is a not for profit society established over 60 years ago to promote the health and well being of British Columbians and the environment they live in. • PHABC is dedicated to supporting evidence-based public health programming, healthy public policy, health promotion, and ongoing workforce development. • PHABC serves on a number of coalitions and works in partnership with government agencies and other NGO’s across a range of settings where citizens live work and play.

4. Public Health Association of BC Call(877) 582-7011forTechSupport

5. Public Health Association of BC Poll: Who is on this webinar? 1. Are you with a: • School/School District  • Health Authority  • Non-Profit/Non-Government Organization  • Government • Others

6. Public Health Association of BC Poll: Who is on this webinar? 2. Where are you located? • Lower Mainland/Fraser • Vancouver Island • Interior  • Northern • Others (not from BC)

7. Public Health Association of BC Today’s facilitator: Irv Rootman

8. Today’s Facilitator Chair Adjunct Professor Co-Author Irving Rootman

10. BC Health Literacy Network’s Goals Increase health literacy skills of B.C. Population Develop structures and expertise to support members of the public Increase the ability of stakeholders from different fields and sectors to work collaboratively From: Health Literacy Strategic Plan, 2010 (https://phabc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BC-Health-Literacy-Strategy_-2010.pdf)

11. BC Health Literacy Network’s Activities Open Meetings Newsletter Networking Sessions Publications Workshops Website https://phabc.org/about-us/partners-and-collaborators/health-literacy/

12. For More Information Contact irootman@telus.net

13. Today’s First Speaker Doris Gillis, PhD, PDt Dept. Human Nutrition St Francis Xavier U. Antigonish, Nova Scotia

14. Food literacy…an evolving sub-concept of health literacy Webinar, February 13, 2019 Doris Gillis, PhD, PDt, Senior Research Professor, Dept of Human Nutrition

15. Literacy, health and food interact as critical resources for everyday living. Their nexus reflects the emerging concept of food literacy, • can be viewed a sub-concept of health literacy (Gillis, 2016).

16. Literacy means different things to different people • Such as … • an autonomous set of skills • a social practice applied and situated in daily life • a learning process • both individual and societal transformation • …literacy is a shape-shifting, knowledge, skill and culture, everywhere-at-once capacity that affects many aspects of someone’s life, while at the same time affecting our whole society. CUPE Literacy Program, (2017), Adult Literacy in Canada-2017 Report (p.9).

17. Defining health literacy The ability to access, understand, evaluate and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings across the life-course. Rootman & Gordon-El-Bihbety, (2008). Expert Panel on Health Literacy, Canadian Public Health Association.

18. Health literacy is • the combination of personal competencies and situational resources needed for people to access, understand, appraise and use information and services to make decisions about health. • the capacity to communicate, assert and act upon these decisions. • the way in which services, organizations and systems make health information and resources available and accessible to people according to health literacy strengths and limitations. • IUHPE(2018). Position statement on health literacy:A practical vision for a health literate world (p.6).

19. Setting the food literacy context • Complex food environment & drive for sustainable food systems • Increased evidence of burden of nutrition-related chronic diseases • Barrage of conflicting information on food • Concerns about personal food skills… ‘deskilling’ over recent decades • Impact of social determinants on nutritional health and equity, e.g. food insecurity at household and community levels

20. Identifying attributes of food literacy Perry et al., 2017; Thomas et al., 2019 • Food & Nutrition Knowledge • Food Skills • Self-Efficacy & Confidence • Ecologic Factors (external) • Food Decisions

21. Definition & Framework for ActionCullen et al., 2015 Food literacy is • the ability to make decisions to support the achievement of personal health and a sustainable food system considering environmental, social, economic, cultural, and political components. (p.  143).

22. Canada’s Food Guide - 2019 • Food literacy • includes food skills and practices that are learned and used across the lifespan to participate within a complex food environment. • means considering the social, cultural, economic and physical factors related to food. • https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/guidelines/section-3-importance-of-food-skills/

23. Promoting children’s health Truman et al.,2017 Food literacy • involves broad sets of skills and knowledge about food origins and systems; individual and collective food experiences; food identification; physical, emotional and mental effects of food; as well as basic abilities related to food. • is a foundation of knowledge, understanding and awareness that allows people to perform actions related to food and think critically about their relationship to the broader food system.

24. Food literacy in school programs-promising practices Shown to • benefit health and dietary behaviour • critical food literacy skills (learning, culture, and social norms) support local agriculture and promote sustainable food systems. Hermandez et al, 2018 “the concept of food literacy is being reframed as an avenue for social change leading to food systems transformation” Powell & Wittman, 2018, p 203

25. Current Challenges How can we ….. • define food literacy ? • apply the concept of food literacy in various contexts in developing interventions? • design valid measurement tools? • rigorously evaluate program and policy initiatives to determine what works best? • determine effect on system level change? • determine impact on health of populations ? • be accountable for practice?

26. Future Opportunities • Food literacy is an important starting point for developing new dialogue around food engagement, which moves beyond (but includes) ‘food skills’. • Slater, 2017, p18 • Many examples of initiatives reflecting ‘food literacy’ emerging. • Much to learn !

27. References Canadian Union of Public Employees (June, 2018).CUPE Literacy Program, Adult Literacy in Canada-2017 Report. Cullen et al. (2015). Food literacy: Definition and framework for action. Can J Diet Prac& Res,76:1–6. Gillis, D.E. (2016). Using a health literacy frame to conceptualise food literacy. Chapter 5 in H. Vidgen (Ed.). Food Literacy: Key Concepts for Health and Education. (p.85−101). London, UK: Routledge. Hernandez et al. (2018). The case for a Canadian national school food program. Can Food Studies, 5(3): 208–229. International Union for Health Promotion and Education (May, 2018).IUHPE Position statement on health literacy: A practical vision for a health literate world. Perry et al. (2017). Identifying attributes of food literacy: A scoping review. Public Health Nutrition, 20(13):2406-2415 Powell, L.J, & Wittman, H. (2018). Farm to school in British Columbia: Mobilizing food literacy for food sovereignty. Agric Hum Values (2018) 35:193–206 Rootman, I. & Gordon-El-Bihbety, D. (2008). Report of the Expert Panel on Health Literacy, Can Public Health Assoc, Ottawa: ON. Slater, J. (2017). Food literacy: A critical tool in a complex foodscape. J Fam Cons Sciences, 109(2): 14-20. Thomas et al. (2019 online). Complexities in conceptualizing and measuring food literacy. J Acad Nut Diet DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2018.10.015 Truman et al. (2017). Promoting children’s health: Toward a consensus statement on food literacy. Can J Public Health, 108(2):e211–e213.

28. Next Speaker Richard Han, MPH Provincial Manager ofFarm to School BC Public Health Association of BC

29. Food Literacy in Classrooms Richard Han Farm to School BC Provincial Manager Prov.manager@farmtoschoolbc.ca Farm to School BC is program is supported by the Province of British Columbia and the Provincial Health Services Authority

32. Vision & Mission Vision: Healthy, local and sustainable food on the plates and minds of all students in BC Mission: Working with communities and partners, F2SBC seeks to empower and support schools in building comprehensive F2S programs that support vibrant, sustainable, regional food systems, develop student food literacy and enhance school and community connectedness

33. Core Elements of Farm to School

34. Winter Greenhouse Fun! Salt Spring Elementary School, Salt Spring Island

35. Discovery Garden Comes to Life Kidston Elementary School, Coldstream

37. How You Can Participate! Resources Funding Farm to School BC Up to $3,500 Go Grant (Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation) $600 (classroom) and $3,500 (school) Healthy School BC $5,000 Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grant Program ($2,000) Salad Bar grants ($10,000) Regional Health Authority Grants Local Foundations? Clubs? Businesses? School Fundraising? • Farm to School BC • The BC Farm to School Guide • Program Model, Microgreen, Tools From the Shed, and much more! • Green Thumbs at School • Food Garden Lesson Book developed by SPEC • Starting a Schoolyard Market Garden • An implementation & Resource Guide • West Coast Seeds • Lots of different garden wisdom!

38. Other Places to Look • Farm to School BC: https://farmtoschoolbc.ca/resources/tools-from-the-shed/ • BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation https://www.bcaitc.ca/resources • BC at the Table Teacher Resources (Secondary) https://bcdairy.ca/bcatthetable/bc-at-the-table-teacher-resources

39. Other Places to Look • Nourish Life Curriculum Guide http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/ • The edible schoolyard project https://edibleschoolyard.org/resource-search • Action Schools BC: Promoting Healthy Living https://www.actionschoolsbc.ca/healthy-eating/ • Food for thought and action (Secondary) https://grassrootsonline.org/what-we-do/publications-and-resources/educational-resources/food-thought-action/

40. Regional Hub Animators Farm to School BC Network Capital Regional Hub Aaren Topley (SD 61, 62, 63, 64) capitalregion@farmtoschoolbc.ca Kamloops Regional Hub Bonnie Klohn (SD73) kamloopsregion@farmtoschoolbc.ca Greater Vancouver Regional Hub Samantha Gambling (SD 38, 39, 44, 45) vancouverregion@farmtoschoolbc.ca Nanaimo-North Regional Hub Marcus Lobb - (SD68, 70) nanaimonorthregion@farmtoschoolbc.ca Northwest Regional Hub Margo Peill (SD 54, 82) northwestregion@farmtoschoolbc.ca Surrey Regional Hub TBD (SD 36) surreyregion@farmtoschoolbc.ca Provincial Team Addie de Candole Communications Coordinator communications@farmtoschoolbc.ca Richard Han Provincial Manager Prov.manager@farmtoschoolbc.ca Health Authority Regional Leads Northern BC Emilia Moulechkova Population Health Dietitian Emilia.moulechkova@northernhealth.ca Vancouver Island Janelle Hatch Healthy Schools Coordinator Janelle.hatch@viha.ca Interior Simone Jennings Public Health Dietitian SimoneJennings@interiorhealth.ca Greater Vancouver Vanessa Lam Public Health Dietitian Vanessa.Lam@vch.ca Sunshine Coast Meghan Molnar Public Health Dietitian Meghan.molnar@vch.ca Fraser Nadia Guirguis Population-PH Dietitian Nadia.Guirguis@fraserhealth.ca

41. Stay Connected…Follow Us! Social Media Platforms Facebook Page: Farmtoschoolbc Twitter: @farmtoschoolbc Instagram: farmtoschoolbc Hashtag: #f2sbc Website Website: www.farmtoschoolbc.ca

42. Last Speaker Peter Leblanc FMNCP Program Manager

43. Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program and Food Literacy BC Association of Farmers Markets

44. Increase access to healthy local food for lower-income: pregnant women families with children seniors Objectives

45. ObjectiveS To improve the health of lower-income British Columbians

46. To improve the economic prosperity of British Columbia farmers who sell at BC farmers’ markets Objectives

47. PRIMARY Funding Supported by the Province of British Columbia and the Provincial Health Services Authority Over $7.5M since 2012

48. How It Works Lower-income pregnant women, families and seniors sign-up with a partner Partners give recipients coupons every week

49. How It Works Community partners help to build the food literacy skills of the participants

50. How It Works Recipients purchase eligible items at their local farmers’ markets