January 17 - 28th inclusive, students will be given a Rainbow lunch Club card and will be encouraged to bring a lunch that contains one item from each of the four food groups from Canada's Food Guide.
Each time a student brings a healthy lunch to school they will receive a mark on their Rainbow Lunch Club card. At the end of the challenge, the class with the most marks combined, will win free time at the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre opening in late January for the whole class. Help your child promote and exercise healthy and active living by working with them to create winning combinations of whole foods to eat in their lunch during this nutrition blitz and every day.
By now you will have received a letter stapled to Healthy Eating and Active Living for your 6-12 year old guide. Inside you will find many web resources to help you create healthy meal and snack choices for you and your children.
SOME FAST FACTS TO CONVINCE YOU TO REFLECT ON WHAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR CHILD'S LUNCH :
- eating healthy, whole (unprocessed foods) helps your child's memory, ability to concentrate, academic performance
- children who eat supper with their families three or more times per week have a decreased risk of being overweight
- you can prevent mealtime struggles by allowing you child to decide whether or not to eat and how much to eat ( the parent decides what, when and where to offer the food)
- healthy homemade lunches are not expensive (see page 12 & 13 of the guide for lunch ideas)
- The best thirst quencher is water
- It can take a child between 10 - 15 separate tastings of a food before accepting it
Good luck to the students, and may the classes with the most healthy lunches win!
