Establishing Healthy Food Environments in the Recreation Sector

Recreation settings are important environments to promote health and well-being. Healthy food environments in recreation settings support people to make healthier food choices. This can be done by making healthier options available, visible, promoted and affordable. The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA), through a contract with Health Canada, completed a series of activities to help raise awareness of the importance of healthy eating in our sector. Check out some of the latest news, updates, and resources on our work below.

Healthy Eating Stories

Healthy eating initiatives already underway across Canada, as well as resources to support implementation, were identified through a scan. Three case studies were developed to explore in more detail the steps taken to create healthy food environments including the successes and challenges. Lessons learned from these initiatives can be used to start or enhance your own healthy eating initiatives.

Healthy Eating Inventory

We have created a short inventory of five initiatives that support healthy eating in the recreation sector as well as a number of resources that you can reference or re-create in your own community.

Online Learning Sessions

A series of online learning sessions were also delivered to provide opportunities to learn from experts and colleagues about what it means to provide a healthy eating environment, the role of the recreation sector, and the resources available to support these initiatives. Watch the presentations and share them with your colleagues and partners to start your own initiative or get inspired with more ideas.

If you’re interested in continuing the conversation, we invite you to join CPRA Connect and join the Healthy Eating in Recreation Settings discussion group for a great serving of ideas and conversation!