Provincial Initiatives and Activities

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Efforts to ensure food security and improve access to healthy nutritious food occurs at all levels of government, across provincial departments, communities, local organizations, and food producers
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Many initiatives highlighted in this presentations involve partnerships and collaboration within and outside of government
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Food is a common bond…

A SIMPLE FOOD
CHOICE
PARADIGM
Personal
Food
Choice
What is
ACCEPTABLE
[socio-cultural]
&
AFFORDABLE
[economic]
What is
AVAILABLE
[Market
Non-market]

School Nutrition Policy
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All public schools must have a written nutrition policy
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The policy requirement is legislated in the Public School Act along with trans-fat legislation.
HLYS provides Guidelines for Foods Served in Schools, and a variety of support materials.
A collaborative School Nutrition Support Team (SNST) has been created to provide practical assistance to schools.
Healthy Schools
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Funding to SDs and RHAs; Mini Campaigns
School Nourishment Programs
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Funding is provided to the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba, a communitybased non-profit to help support school nourishment programs (breakfast and snack) and a school fruit and vegetable snack pilot program.
Farm-2-school Healthy Choices Fundraiser pilot program
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{with MAFRI, MAHE and Peak of the Market]

Community Food Security
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Funding is provided to Food Matters Manitoba, a community non-profit that support for collaborative efforts to help strengthen food security of individuals and communities.
Pre-school Nutrition
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Scan of programs and policies in child care centres across Canada
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Conducted consultation with a selected child care personnel in Manitoba
Proposal for supporting nutrition in child care settings is under consideration.
Eat Smart Meet Smart
Workplace healthy eating resource and policy
Infant nutrition
Infant feeding resources on breastfeeding, use of formula, and solid foods
Baby-Friendly Initiative
NEW
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Sodium reduction
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Childhood Obesity Prevention – Achieving Healthy Weights

Manitoba Prenatal Benefit
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A monthly cheque during pregnancy is available to incomeeligible women to help with eating well
Healthy Baby Community Support Programs
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Community programs offer social support and informal learning opportunities to encourage early, regular prenatal care and promote healthy infant development. These programs:
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Encourage affordable healthy eating through cooking and nutrition activities
Build women's confidence and awareness of health and parenting choices, and foster awareness of babies' nurturing needs

Baby Friendly Initiative
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Promotion of breastfeeding as cultural norm
Clinical and community dietetic service delivery
Dial-a-Dietitian
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Telephone access to nutrition information and advice
Based in Misericordia

Curriculum
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Nutrition and healthy eating are integrated throughout the K-12 curriculum
Early Childhood Development Initiative
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Healthy eating is part of early childhood literacy programming such as: Alphabet Soup, Family Literacy Olympics, and Wiggle,
Giggle and Munch funded in some school divisions that specifically focuses on physical activity and nutrition.
(Note: these initiatives are not specifically targeted to poverty reduction or food accessibility)

Spence Neighbourhood Association Inc. – Spence Greenhouse Project Phase 2 2010
North End Community Renewal Corporation – North End Food Security 2010
West Broadway Development Corporation – Good Food Club: Growing for Change 2010
Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation – Community Gardens Project 2009
West Broadway Development Corporation – Soup Bee Pilot 2009
Food Matters Manitoba – Good Food Box 2010
West Broadway Development Corporation – Greening the Way Phase 2 2009
Farmers’ Market Association of Manitoba – The Waterfront Farmers Market 2009

Employment and Income Assistance
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Additional resources are available to assist participants with the cost of nutritional supplements and therapeutic diets
Participants residing in northern or remote regions receive additional funds through the Northern Allowance to assist with the higher cost of food in those regions
The Northern Energy Cost Benefit is intended to supplement the Northern Allowance to assist with the increased cost of transporting goods
 Eligible EIA participants may receive subsidized meals from organizations/agencies such as Meals on Wheels and the
Manitoba Housing Congregate Meal Program.
Disability Programs
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Family Support Services (Children’s Special Services) provides financial support for the purchase of food supplements if a child has a specific diet resulting from his or her disability
Manitoba Child Benefit (MCB)
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A monthly benefit intended to assist low income families with the cost of raising children
Manitoba Child Care Program
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Regulations require that Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating is followed when providing meals and snacks in full time child care centres
Menus must be prepared in advance and posted for the information of parents and guardians

Promoting eat local
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The Local Produce Guide is a resource that helps people access fresh local produce, including highlighting farmers markets, U- pick vegetable and fruit and access to local crops. MAFRI also supports development and upgrading of farmers markets.
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Buy Manitoba Program, part of a five-year program to develop a branding and public-awareness campaign that will help consumers identify and buy locally. Locally produced foods are a fresh choice for our consumers and buying locally supports Manitoba producers and processors.

Northern Growing Opportunities (GO) Centre
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Officially opened May 2009 to help people have more access to agriculture-related information, education programs and agribusiness specialists..
Northern Agriculture Program
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Encourages the expansion of agriculture production and to increase the availability of locally produced healthy foods in northern Manitoba
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Leverages funding for innovative projects that provide practical support and solutions to expanding agriculture and food production to increase availability and reduce the cost of fresh, healthy foods for northern residents
Funding is open to northern residents, agriculture producers, partnerships, co-operatives, corporations and band councils

Food Development Centre (FDC)
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A Special Operating Agency of the Province of Manitoba. It is mandated to assist the agri-food industry in the development and commercialization of conventional and healthy foods.
Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network (MAHRN)
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Promotes and builds Manitoba’s unique cluster for the research, development, and commercialization of agricultural products of health.
Canadian Climate Advantage Diet (CCAD)
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A project exploring the agronomic, policy and health care advantages that support the development of a
'Canadian' diet focused on unique Canadian foods that would provide easier access to local products and whose health attributes have been assessed and supported by sound science. The goal is to encourage local agricultural production and processing of key crops including oilseeds (canola, flax), cereals, pulses and indigenous berries and other healthy crops (buckwheat, hemp).
Manitoba Consumer Monitor Food Panel
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A collaborative project between MAFRI and the Faculty of Human Ecology at the University of Manitoba that will run from 2010- 2013. It is a provincially representative longitudinal panel of food consumers to track attitudes and perceptions towards food, diet and health. It is anticipated that this study will continue beyond
2013.

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Ensuring the food supply is safe:
Manitoba’s Food Safety Act provides a legal framework for overseeing the production and processing of food in Manitoba and for improving the protection of food from farm to table.
Under this act, Manitoba would not only ensure that any food safety issues at any point in the food system are addressed but would deal with significant disruptions in Manitoba's food supply caused by major emergencies such as a pandemic.
Amendments have been made to The Department of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Act to allow the minister to obtain information necessary to plan for possible disruptions in the food supply.

Northern Healthy Foods Initiative
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Objectives are to support and promote gardening, greenhouses, community food programs and food business development; help northern Manitobans make healthier food choices and make these foods more available; stimulate economic development that improves the northern food system; and demonstrate new approaches to improving food accessibility in the
Northern Healthy Food Initiative activities include:
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Chronic disease prevention education
Traditional fishing, hunting and gathering encouraging the local economy of harvesters and self-sufficiency
Food preservation
Helping families rediscover healthy local food sources
Educational workshops and conferences (Northern Harvest Forum, Veggie Adventures
Curriculum Workshop, Root Camp, Growing Local Conferences…)
Educational DVDs on gardening and traditional gathering and preserving (Vitality
Gardening series, “…And This is My Garden”, Mother Nature’s Pantry – Food From the
Forest)

Northern Healthy Foods Initiative activities include:
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Gardening, cold frame and greenhouses operations
Provision of gardening needs from seeds to tillers
Gardening technical advise
Revolving Loan Freezer Purchase Program
Composting
Soil blending
Garden tool lending program
Small livestock production
School nourishment programs
Curriculum implementation to engage youth
Youth and family resource centre programming

COMMUNITY
PROGRAMS
Gardens, buying clubs, good food boxes, cooking classes etc etc
ACCESS TO FOOD
Northern Healthy Foods
FPT Obesity Task Force
FOOD AVAILABILITY
Agriculture policy
Farmers Markets
CHARITY
Food Banks
Soup Kitchens
BENEFITS
Northern Allowance
Northern energy benefit
Pre-natal benefits
Child Benefit
SUFFICIENT
HEALTHY FOOD ON
FAMILY TABLE
INCOME SPARING
Housing support
Child Care
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Neighbourhoods Alive!
Food Matters Manitoba
Winnipeg Foundation
INCOME
Minimum Wage
Job Creation
PROGRAM
School nourishment
Healthy Baby
Community School Partnership
Veggie Fundraiser