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Healthy Eating: Increasing Healthy Food and Beverage Options

Categories:

  • Healthy eating,
  • Physical environment,
  • Community,
  • Healthcare facilities,
  • Schools,
  • Workplace,
  • Facilities & organizations,

Healthy eating: Increasing healthy food and beverage access and options

Healthy, safe and affordable food is a key determinant of health.1 Access and consumption of healthy foods reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases including cancer. The food we eat can increase our risk of poor health.2

Approximately 30 per cent of colorectal cancers in Alberta may be caused by an unhealthy diet.3 In 2015, approximately 8% of new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in Alberta were linked to low vegetable and fruit consumption, while approximately 10% were linked to consumption of red and processed meats.4, 5 

 

Rockyview General Hospital noticed they were selling beverages that exceeded the total daily recommended intake of added sugar in their vending machines and decided they could do better to support healthy choices!

Ways to get started

  • Work with vendors to start a healthy food box program or community market where local residents can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at a low cost.
  • Work with partners to develop a transportation system for community members with reduced mobility or who do not have a way to get to healthy food options. This could be a volunteer grocery drop off, grocery car pools, etc.
  • Work with partners to remove larger-size drink options available in cafeterias, vending machines, and at events.6-8
  • Increase availability and accessibility of water re-fill stations/water at no extra cost or at a subsidized price at local events.7
  • Create a project to increase healthy food and beverage options offered in public vending machines and at events, such as in libraries, recreation centres and at community celebrations.7
  • Make healthy food and beverage options available at business or in easy-to-see locations and unhealthy options in locations that are less visible.
  • Work with local municipalities to develop a policy to increase healthy food and beverage options offered at public events in the community.7
  • Support municipalities to develop zoning bylaws that regulate grocery stores and fast food restaurants.
  • For schools, include students and family members from the start to promote healthy food environments in the school.

For further action related to promoting healthy eating in your community see

Evaluation measures the impact of all the hard work that went into developing a community initiative. Evaluating impact examines: 

  1. What you expect to learn or change
  2. What you measure and report
  3. How to measure impact

What you expect to learn about increasing healthy food and beverage access and options may include:

  • Learning that the strategy was implemented as planned
  • Increased visibility of healthy food and beverage options
  • Increased support or programs to access healthy food and beverage options
  • New or revised policies or by-laws related to food access and/or healthy options

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External Resources

Nudging Customers to the Healthy Choice in Recreational Settings

Ways to encourage customers to make healthier food choices

View Resource

Healthy Vending Toolkit

A toolkit to help schools, workplaces, recreation facilities and community settings offer healthier options in vending machines.

View Resource

Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth: A Childcare, School and Recreation/Community Centre Resource Manual

These guidelines offer facilities and organizations tools for the provision of healthy food choices in childcare and recreation facilities, schools and other community settings.

View Resource

Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Adults

How Alberta’s current food environments and policies impact children’s eating behaviours

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Tips to Promote Healthier Food and Beverage Options

Positive messaging encourages healthy choices, and other marketing tips

View Resource

University of Alberta Report Card

A practical workbook for community-based programs.

View Resource

References- Increasing Healthy Food options

  1. Jeffery RW, French SA, Raether C, Baxter JE. An environmental intervention to increase fruit and salad purchases in a cafeteria. Preventative medicine. 1994;23(6):788-792.
  2. Jordan KC, Erickson ED, Cox R, et al. Evaluation of the Gold Medal Schools program. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2008;108(11):1916-1920.
  3. Blanck HM, Kim SA. Creating Supportive Nutrition Environments for Population Health Impact and Health Equity: An Overview of the Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network's Efforts. 2012;43:S85-S90.
  4. Ruan Y, Poirier AE, Hebert LA, Grevers X, Walter SD, Villeneuve PJ, Brenner DR, Friedenreich CM. Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to red and processed meat consumption in Canada. Preventive Medicine. 2019;122:31-9.
  5. Poirier AE, Ruan Y, Hebert LA, Grevers X, Walter SD, Villeneuve PJ, Brenner DR, Friedenreich CM. Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to low fruit and vegetable consumption in Canada. Preventive Medicine. 2019;122:20-30.
  6. Roy, R, kelly,B, Rangan, A, Allman-Farinelli, M. Food Environment Intervientions to Improve the Dietary Behavior of Young Adults in Tertiary Education Settings: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2015;115(10):1681.e1.doi:10.1016/J.jand.2015.06.380.
  7. Ottem A. Healthy eating and food security: promising strategies for BC. Toronto (ON): Dietitians of Canada; 2010. Available from: https://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/Healthy-Eating-and-Food-Security-Strategies-BC.aspx
  8. National Guideline Clearing House. American Cancer Society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); 2012. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22237782