School Nutrition Education in Canada: Call to Action for Dietitians to Advocate for Social Justice

As Canadian registered dietitians with a shared commitment to reimagining how children learn about food and eating, our goal is to support diverse, inclusive, and socially just school nutrition education (SNE). We argue that it is essential to stop focusing SNE on “obesity” prevention and reductionist framings of “healthy eating.” Dietitians who are involved in supporting public school educators or curriculum development must reconsider how and what children learn about food, eating, and bodies. To better support students, their families, and their teachers, it is critical to consider the cultural, socio-economic, historical, and structural contexts of school nutrition programming. We must acknowledge the limitations and potential harms of focusing predominantly on behaviour change and instead take a compassionate approach to nutrition education and advocate for social justice. This paper is an invitation to registered dietitians to collectively reflect on how food is taught and learned about in public schools in Canada, specifically considering feeding dynamics, body inclusivity, and food literacy.