Calgary's own Snactivity Box, a toolkit designed to improve the eating and physical activity habits of young children, received a national award from the Dietitians of Canada and Kraft Canada at a ceremony on June 10th in Halifax, NS.
The Speaking of Food and Healthy Living Award: Excellence in Consumer Communication is designed to encourage and recognize collaborative efforts that help Canadians make informed choices about healthy eating and physical activity. The award was created in 1998 in response to the report Speaking of Food and Healthy Eating: A Consumer Perspective, which indicated that Canadians wanted to eat healthier but were confused by conflicting and difficult-to-apply nutrition messages.
The Snactivity Box is a hands-on toolkit that child care providers can use to deliver healthy eating and active living messages to children in a fun yet meaningful way. The goal is to help foster the healthy development of toddlers and preschoolers.
The Calgary Health Region partnered with the Alberta Cancer Board to create the toolkit and 25 Snactivity Boxes were pilot tested throughout the Calgary Health Region. After an overwhelmingly positive response, Alberta Health and Wellness adopted the kit as a Healthy U initiative. 1,800 Snactivity Boxes were developed and delivered across Alberta.
“Snactivity Box appeals to a child’s love for play,” says award winner Diane Hoy, Nutrition Specialist of the Calgary Health Region. “The Box contains fun and interactive activities that encourage healthy eating and active living habits such as Restaurant, which show children how to make healthy foods choices when eating out.”
To read the entire news release, click here. To learn more about the Snactivity Box and even download a copy, visit the Calgary Health Region website or Healthy U.
Congratulations to those who helped to create and deliver the Snactivity Box and its important messages. To learn more about physical activity in this population, click here.
