Manitoba Youth Encouraged To Eat And Live Healthier: Ministers

December 3, 2008
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Province Announces School Nourishment Grants; Nominations Open for Premier’s Healthy Living Award

The provincial government is supporting the health and education of young people with a new $125,000 grant for school nourishment programs across Manitoba, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjornson announced today.“These funds will provide good nutrition and information about healthy foods to Manitoba’s children as they’re developing healthy eating habits,” said Irvin-Ross, chair of the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet. “An investment in today’s nourishment programs will pay dividends as these young Manitobans grow into healthier, more active adults.”

The $125,000 grant will be provided to the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba, a community-based organization that supports efforts to improve child nutrition. The funds will be directed to school nourishment programs that help up to 8,000 children across Manitoba including breakfast clubs, snack programs and healthy food promotion.

Over the course of a year, students may eat over 200 meals at school. Provincial support of school nourishment initiatives is geared toward helping students have a healthier start to the school day.

“A growing body of research is telling us that well-nourished students perform better and are more active in the classroom, something that teachers have said for many years,” Bjornson said. “A student’s health and wellness has an important connection to academic success. Our government would like to ensure Manitoba students get the best possible start in school.”

“This grant is an investment in the most valuable resource we have – the children of Manitoba,” said Viola Prowse, school nourishment program co-ordinator with the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba. “We get an extremely positive response from students and schools because it gives young people a better opportunity to succeed.”

Irvin-Ross also today announced that nominations are now open for the Premier’s Healthy Living Award for Youth, which recognizes youth who have made a difference by encouraging healthy living in their communities.

The award will be presented at the 11th annual Reh-Fit Centre Foundation’s Healthy Living Awards dinner on April 16 in Winnipeg.

“Young people across the province are working hard to promote wellness and healthy lifestyles, and they deserve to have their efforts recognized,” said Sue Boreskie, executive director of the Reh-Fit Centre. “This award celebrates their achievements and their success in making people more aware of the need to make healthy lifestyle choices.”

Young people aged 12 to 18 who have adopted a healthy lifestyle or made outstanding contributions to the community in the area of healthy living are eligible to receive the award. Two letters of support, including at least one from an adult, must be included with each nomination. Support can be provided by teachers, coaches, mentors, community volunteers or service club volunteers. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 27.

The creation of the Premier’s Healthy Living Award for Youth and the school nourishment grant meet key recommendations of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures Task Force report, which recommended government undertake a variety of initiatives to promote healthy living.

Nomination forms for the award can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/healthyliving and www.reh-fit.com.

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Backgrounder
Children And Healthy Eating