You think changing food legislation
in schools is hard? Try changing a
teenager’s behaviour.
CASE STUDY: MY FOOD MY WAY
130 SPADINA AVENUE SUITE 305 | TORONTO ONTARIO M5V 2L4 | KANDCO.CA |
(416) 551-5529
MY FOOD MY WAY
“We’re not just about
nutrition; we’re about
the culture of food.”
When the provincial government passed a bill to get rid of junk food in school
cafeterias, Toronto students responded by going somewhere else for lunch. With
the declining health of today’s youth in mind, the Toronto Education Workers and
the Toronto District School Board wanted to get students back into the caf and
eating better.
The goal was clear: we had to initiate a cultural shift - change nutritional
education from Dos and Don’ts to Hows and Whys. We started by developing a
brand that didn’t just express this new approach; it became a rallying cry. Enter
My Food My Way.
We were single-minded in what we wanted to achieve, but we knew that the
campaign had to be multi-faceted. Our strategy had to work towards both a
systemic change and a transformation of public perception. Needless to say,
there were several elements that had to work together and the boundaries of
engagement had to be pushed.
The first ads we created weren’t just passive promotion; they instigated
conversations. My Food My Way posters used QR codes to give the audience a
chance to weigh in on its content. Not only did it get the word out, it was also an
effective and scalable research tool.
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Our game-changing
philosophy became
headline news.
When My Food My Way announced its presence, people began to take notice.
Soon, internationally acclaimed chef Susur Lee was championing our cause, and
our game-changing philosophy became headline news. But national coverage
was only the beginning.
By building an innovative web application, we were able to bring the discussion
of nutrition onto the main pages of humour and technology websites. At its
height, there were more than 10,000 users making food-themed video messages
with Foodagram. And yes, some of them were famous.
More importantly, each and every one of those users was joining the discourse.
We connected with young people both online and in person, making sure that
they were involved every step of the way. There were surveys, focus groups, and
workshops. We even hired Toronto high school students as models for our
photographic assets – and as the photographers too.
The Student Ambassador Program was our way of focusing on specific schools in
the GTA and engaging its student body. The pilot school was Thistletown
Collegiate, where we teamed up with chef and teacher Keith Hoare.
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We helped the
students re-imagine
their cafeteria
experience.
We helped the students re-imagine their cafeteria experience and encouraged
them to make positive changes for themselves.
As the campaign continued to flourish, we partnered with local food events,
translating our doctrine into real life experiences. Abbey’s Kitchen Stadium, a
popular live cooking competition, gave Student Ambassadors the chance to work
alongside successful Toronto chefs and join a larger culinary culture.
My Food My Way also began working with Humber College to introduce tower
gardens into local high schools. We wanted to integrate schools into the cycle of
food so that young people could have a closer relationship with what they eat. It
highlighted the fact that a local movement could indeed have a global impact.
We coordinated efforts with the Food Innovation and Research Studio at George
Brown College to create new menu items for school cafeterias – dishes that meet
nutritional standards but also look and taste great. Once again, the students’
feedback was invaluable and reiterated the fact that they were the true leaders of
the campaign.
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My Food My Way has never been about forcing ideas onto students; it’s about
getting them to develop a new ideology. Their enthusiasm and insight drive the
campaign, giving them ownership over a legacy that will define the health of
future generations - and eventually, change the way teenagers eat.