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Working with schools to promote Healthy Eating Limerick Food Partnership (LFP). Christine Gurnett MINDI RD LDN Senior Community Dietitian Health Promotion HSE West Christine.gurnett@hse.ie. Healthy Eating is easy?. Lots of info available? Similar messages everywhere?
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Working with schools to promote Healthy Eating Limerick Food Partnership (LFP) Christine Gurnett MINDI RD LDN Senior Community Dietitian Health Promotion HSE West Christine.gurnett@hse.ie
Healthy Eating is easy? • Lots of info available? • Similar messages everywhere? • New info means major changes in eating? • Multibillion € Food and Nutrition Business – its competitive! • Basic dietary guidelines x 50 years
Healthy eating seems complicated • Nutrition knowledge/basic rules • Planning menus, creating shopping list • Shopping, finding ingredients + substitutes • Cooking skills, risk taking + confidence • Time management • The art of keeping a few people satisfied • All this at a reasonable cost • Takes lifelong learning, practice, often needs support
Developing good eating habits • Early age and determine diet for rest of life • Evidence shows children’s diets can raise or lower the risk of long-term chronic illness • Starting on healthy path at an early age is key as habits become ingrained in behaviour
School setting ideal • More time + more food eaten in school setting • Raise awareness • Engage informally with parents and teachers • Sometimes at no cost to parent • ‘Trickle home effect’
Limerick Schools Health Eating Programs • Healthy School Lunch Program since 2003 • Healthy Eating Policies • Breakfast Club • Afterschool Club • Cook It (Nutrition and Cooking Skills) • OLQP Primary/Post Primary TY Schools Pilot • A supportive environment where healthy eating is the easy choice and the norm
Cook It • 6 Week Cooking and Nutrition Curriculum • Developed NI, adapted to Irish Food Pyramid • Hands on experience with recipes related to each food group • Extra themes; shopping on budget, dental health, healthy eating for children etc • Transition Year curriculum and workbook being piloted
The Future • National Nutrition Policy (co-ordinate and provide evidence based guidance) • National Program for Food in Schools (Guidelines + train/monitor/evaluate) • Roll out of Health Promoting Schools Model • Whole school and whole family approach • Dietitians with remit of working with educational sector locally (pre-school, Primary, Secondary, Third Level and teacher CPD) • Kitchens + Eating spaces in schools • Funding