OPHA develops and promotes nutrition programs and resources to support healthy eating.

Nutrition Resource Centre (NRC)

OPHA established the Nutrition Resource Project in 1999 to increase the level of provincial support for nutrition promotion programming, develop resources, disseminate resources and support nutrition professionals working in public health.

Since then this Project has become a provincial Resource Centre committing itself to strengthening the capacity of nutrition practitioners in communities across Ontario and coordinating the delivery of evidence-informed nutrition programming in a health promotion context.

Specifically, the NRC works towards fulfilling the strategic directions of the Healthy Weights Healthy Lives report (2004) and HEAL Strategy, supports the local delivery of programs outlined in the Ontario Public Health Standards, as well as provincial and local healthy eating initiatives funded through Healthy Communities Ontario.

NRC in Action…

The Nutrition Resource Centre is currently working on several initiatives on the provincial level to improve the health of Ontarians.
  • NRC coordinates four provincial programs — Colour It Up…Go for more vegetables and fruit; Community Food Advisors; Eat Smart!®; and NutriSTEP®
  • All NRC programs support implementation of the Ontario Public Health Standards.
  • NRC is responsible for the development of award-winning resources for caregivers of children to improve nutrition and physical activity levels.
  • NRC has developed presentations on healthy eating for use by community groups.
  • NRC networks and collaborates with community nutrition professionals across Ontario to enhance local nutrition programming.
  • NRC provides knowledge transfer by making up-to-date information on public health nutrition activities and research available to nutrition promotion practitioners in Ontario.

Impact

  • The Community Food Advisor program is active in 16 communities across Ontario. There are approximately 400 volunteers and in 2009, 47,000 people attended a CFA event.
  • Fuel Up For Fun was the national winner of the Speaking of Food and Healthy Living Award for excellence in consumer communication from Dietitians of Canada and Kraft Canada in 2009; Busy Bodies was chosen as the regional winner in 2008
  • Busy Bodies provides creative food and play ideas for parents to use with their preschooler.
  • Eat Right Be Active resources assist families, caregivers and professionals to support healthy eating and physical activity in the early years.
  • NRC provides knowledge exchange almost 2,000 nutrition promotion practitioners in Ontario through their [contact-nrc] listserv.
  • Of Ontario's public health units, 28 (78%) of them implement the Eat Smart!® Program. Eat Smart!® is an award program that recognizes Ontario schools, workplaces and recreation centres that meet exceptional standards in nutrition, safe food handling, and a smoke-free environment, ensuring that these establishments are safe and healthy places for Ontarians to eat.
  • NRC's French Language Advisory Network has developed a Lexicon of Words and Phrases for Use in Nutrition and Health Promotion. The lexicon is a tool to support nutrition and health promotion professionals in Ontario with the use of consistent and current French terminology when writing, designing, interpreting and translating nutrition messages.