How quickly can a student nutrition program change things?

When beginning a new Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington’s Food & Friends program at local schools, our staff meets with the school principal and program coordinator to assess the needs of the school and what type of student nutrition program would benefit their student population. After discussing the many benefits that a healthy meal or snack will have for hungry students, a principal at a new program asked one of our Student Nutrition Program Managers, “How long will it take for us to start noticing a difference with our students because of our new healthy snack program?”

The answer to this question varies and often depends on the type and frequency of the student nutrition program, but the answer that day was, “Sooner than you may think, but let’s put it to the test and you let me know when you start to notice a positive change.”

The call came just three days after starting their healthy snack program. When our Student Nutrition Program Manager answered her phone, the first thing she heard was, “You were right!” No hello or identification of who was speaking. She excitedly continued, “It WAS sooner than we thought! We have a student that sadly brings a bottle of coke and a bag of chips to school every day for lunch and he is now eating healthy fruits and vegetables from our nutrition program. The best part is he now asks for these healthier foods at home because it makes him feel better. If that’s a sense of how quickly a student nutrition program can make positive change, then I look forward to what else it can do!”

What can we say…it passed the test!