At our May Cook’s Network, we discussed using neutral language about bodies and food in Child Care and Early Years settings. Michaela Bohunicky, Registered Dietician at TBDHU asked us to share these resources with you. One is Eating Disorders Ontario Prevention- Overview of Disordered Eating Prevention- How Can Schools Help? And the other is Teaching and Talking to Students About Food and Nutrition.
Please feel free to share with your teams and families! This content is most geared toward school-agers, however, the information and links in the articles have great suggestions for how to have conversations about bodies and food with children of all ages. We hope you find this helpful!
We have received some exciting news that programs may once again allow children to assist in preparing and handling food!
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit wishes to remind programs to adhere to the Guidelines for Food Handling for Children Please share this resource with your colleagues!
We know that our programs have missed these engaging opportunities for children and how important food preparation can be for fostering the Four Foundations! We can’t wait to hear about your cooking adventures.
For any further questions, feel free to reach out to the Public Health Inspector, whose phone number can be found at the bottom of the link to the guidelines document.
Please see the below Save the Date poster for upcoming Cooks Network Dates. Please click this link to register for upcoming Cooks Network sessions *PLEASE INDICATE WHICH MONTH YOU WISH TO ATTEND*: PD Registration (office.com)
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) has arranged dedicated appointment times for children 5 to 11 in Manitouwadge, Marathon, Geraldton, Longlac, Nipigon, and Terrace Bay. See the following letters from the TBDHU for information on how to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for your 5 to 11 year old child.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is hosting a Virtual Walking Challenge. We encourage you and your team to participate.
There are 3 $25 gift cards up for raffle for all participants, and you can set any goal that works for you (for example, 15 minutes a day, every day). Walking is a great way to relieve stress and get some fresh air. Educators can also consider including the children in this challenge or inviting families to participate!
Click HERE for more information and to sign up for the Virtual Walking Challenge.
“Enclosed public space” means indoor public spaces of businesses and organizations that are accessed by the public. For example, restaurants, retail establishments, churches, libraries, sports facilities, gyms, common areas and waiting rooms, public transportation and personal service settings are all “enclosed public spaces”. Schools, child care centres, day camps, and other indoor spaces not accessible to the public are not considered an enclosed public space.
Visit our new COVID-19 page under the Resources section! We will continue to post documents and information related to COVID-19 and the early years on this page.
Thank you to everyone who came out to join us for the “Eat Local” session last week. Lots of information was shared and we had lots of discussions between us. The session was so engaging that it was scheduled to end at 3:00 and we were still discussing and sharing after 3:30!
We had Megan Bellinger from the TBDHU talk about the local food movement and introduce us to what it means, why it’s important, how to get started and more. Additionally, we had two amazing guest speakers join us.
First, we had Dayln Bryan from Superior Seasons who discussed how Superior Seasons is making it possible to eat local. Dayln let us know that deliveries are made on Wednesdays and Saturdays and are free to businesses. Check out the Superior Seasons website for more information and for a list of producers in the District of Thunder Bay (superiorseasons.ca).
Secondly, we had Heather Conrad from the Children and Family Centre who presented a frontline perspective on how she gets creative with using local foods in her meals. Heather is very passionate about this topic and it was inspiring to hear what she had to say. One of the many great mentions that Heather made is the value in building relationships with the local farmers. Not only do local foods provide nutrition for the children, but we can also visit the farms where the foods are grown and invite farmers into our programs.
Thank you to all of our presenters. You’ve reminded us how important networking is. We are infinitely thankful for the knowledge and ideas that were shared and we look forward to partnering with you again in the future!
