Youth Engagement in Food Sustainability :  A Review of Programs in Ontario
Supported by The Laidlaw Foundation, FedNor, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Social Planning Council of Sudbury

Report: Youth Engagement in Food Sustainability: A Review of Programs in Ontario
Please click on this link for the  full report.  In 2010 The Foodshed Project completed a report on various food-related youth initiatives and why similar such programs are needed for the youth in The City of Greater Sudbury - click here for the report.  Please email us at info@foodshedproject.ca for a presentation and/or a print copy of the report. 

Please view Nick Wolynsky, Youth Engagement Coordinator, 2009,  highlighting the critical aspects of the report (done in three parts - see below):
Part 1) Ontario and Sudbury diet-related youth health statistics. 
Part 2) Youth focused food sustainability programs in Ontario.
Part 3) Looking at the determinants of healthy eating and studies that show why youth food-based programs are effective at behavior change.

Research Links - Youth Engagement in Food Sustainability: A Review of Program in Ontario:

Health, Employment and Agriculture Statistics;

1) Overweight and Obesity among children and youth - Statistics Canada - 2006 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/studies-etudes/82-003/archive/2006/9277-eng.pdf

2) Knowledge of Canada’s Food Guide and Food Portion Size - 
SDHU and PHRED -2 004

3) Dietary behavior change: the challenge of recasting the role of fruit and vegetables in the American diet - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition- J Heimendinger and MA Van Duyn - 1995
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/61/6/1397S

4) The Northern Ontario Child and Youth Health Report - Northern Health Information Partnership - 2003

5) Healthy Weights: Results for Sudbury and Districts from the Canadian Community Health Survey - SDHU and PHRED - 2004

6) Vital Signs - The Sudbury Community Foundation - 2008
http://www.vitalsignssudbury.ca/pdf/Sudbury_CommunitysVitalSigns_2008.pdf

7) Sudbury hit by brain drain - The Northern Life - Liz Cowan - June 23rd, 2005
http://www.theconstellation.ca/oayec/news_visitors.shtml?x=30510

8) Soil Capability for Agriculture in Sudbury - Canadian Land Inventory Maps - 1968-1980
http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/CLI/frames.html

9) Summary of Agriculture Statistics for Ontario - OMAFRA - 2001
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/stats/agriculture_summary.pdf


Youth-focused Community-based Publications
(In order of when they are referenced in the report)
(Links to full PDF articles are provided where available, otherwise only the links to abstracts can be provided due to copyright restrictions).
1) Blair, D. (2009) The Child in the Garden: An Evaluative Review of the Benefits of School Gardening. The Journal of Environmental Education, 40 (2), 15-38.

2) DeMarco, L. W., Relf, D., & McDaniel, A. (1999). Integrating gardening into the elementary school curriculum. HortTechnology, 9, 276–281.

3) Lieberman, G., Hoody, L., & Lieberman, G.M. (2000). California Student Assessment Project: The effect of environment-based education on student achievement. State Education and Environment Roundtable.

4) Mabie, R., & Baker, M. (1996). The influence of experiential instruction on urban elementary students’ knowledge of the food and fiber system. Journal of Extension, 34(6), 1–4.

5) Devine, C. M. , Wolfe, W. S., Frongillo, E. A., Bisogni, C. A. (1999). Life-course events and experiences: Association with fruit and vegetable consumption in 3 ethnic groups. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 99, 309-314.

6) Cavaliere, D. (1987, May-June). How zucchini won 5th-grade hearts. Children Today, 16(3), 18-21.

7) Morris, J. L., Neustadter, A., & Zidenbreg-Cherr, S. (2001). First-grade gardeners more likely to taste vegetables. California Agriculture, 55(1), 43-46.

8) Morris, J. L., Briggs, M., & Zidenberg-Cherr, S. (2002). Development and evaluation of agarden-enhanced nutrition education curriculum for elementary schoolchildren. The Journal of Child Nutrition and Management, 2.

9) McAleese JD, Rankin LL. (2007). Garden-based nutrition education affects fruit and vegetable consumption in sixth-grade adolescents. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 107, 662-665.

10) Pothukuchi, K. (2004). Hortiliza: A youth " nutrition garden " in Southwest Detroit. Children, Youth and Environments, 14(2), 124-155.

11) Canaris, I. (1995). “Growing food for growing minds: Integrating gardening and nutrition education into the total curriculum. Children’s Environments, 12(2), 134-142.

12) Hudkins, S. J. (1995). Parvis e glandibus quercus: “Great oaks from little acorns grow.” Journal of Extension, 33(4).

13) Skelly, S. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (1998). The Effect of an Interdisciplinary Garden Program on the Environmental Attitudes of Elementary School Students. HortTechnology, 8, 579 - 583.

14) Aguilar, O. M., Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (2008). Growing environmental stewards: The overall effect of a school gardening program on environmental attitudes and environmental locus of control of different demographic groups of elementary school children. HortTechnology, 18, 196-319.

15) Mela, D.J. (1999). Food choice and intake: the human factor. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 58, 513-521.

16) Shattuck, A. L., White, E., Kristal, A. R. (1992). How women's adopted low-fat diets affect their husbands. American Journal of Public Health, 82(9), 1244-1250.

17) Graham, H., & Zidenberg-Cherr, S. (2005). California teachers perceive school gardens as an effective nutritional tool to promote healthful eating habits. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 105, 1797–1800.

18) Graham, H., Feenstra, G., Evans, A. M., & Zidenberg-Cherr, S. (2004). Davis school program supports life-long healthy eating habits in children. California Agriculture, 58, 200–205.

19) O’Callaghan, A. M. (2005). Creating a school gardens program in the challenging environment of Las Vegas, Nevada. HortTechnology, 15, 429–433.

20) Dobbs, K., Relf, D., & McDaniel, A. (1998). Survey on the needs of elementary education teachers to enhance the use of horticulture or gardening in the classroom. HortTechnology, 8, 370–373.

21) Esurio: Journal of Hunger and Poverty 
(Esurio is a student refereed academic journal published by the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) with the proud support of Direct Energy. Esurio publishes articles on issues of hunger and poverty through a youth lens. The journal features articles written and reviewed by graduate and undergraduate students and is published twice annually.


© The Foodshed Project 2009