Healthy Societies
A'Healthy Society' relies on policies, standards, and interventions to enable people to have a healthy diet. This requires many organizations and levels of government working together to: 1) ensure people have access to safe, healthy, and affordable food; 2) create institutional standards for healthy eating; 3) limit marketing to children; and 4) equip people with food knowledge and skills at all ages.
In May 2021, PEI MLAs passed the first bill in Canada aimed at eliminating food insecurity in children and reducing the rate of food insecurity to half, by 2025.
- Food Security
-
Food security or being food secure has many different definitions. The United Nations' Committee on World Food Security defines food security as: “that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.”
Being food insecure, meaning not having enough healthy food, can impact mental, physical, and social health. This can result in a huge cost to individuals health and wellbeing as well as to our healthcare systems. Children who live in a home that is food insecure are more likely to have educational, behavioral, and emotional difficulties than children who live in food secure homes. There can also be different levels of food insecurity.
A healthy society can help people to have food secure homes by creating policies, standards, and interventions that enable people to have a healthy diet. To create food secure people, communities, and society, there needs to be support in budgeting and developing food skills. Basic guaranteed incomes, poverty reduction strategies, school food programs, and access to affordable housing are some ways that can help reduce food insecurity among Islanders and society as a whole.
- Provincial Policies, Programs, & Initiatives
-
Local organizations and government are working together to enhance access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food. Here are some of the policies, programs, and initiatives currently in place:
Poverty Reduction Strategy
Healthy Living Guidelines for Early Learning and Child Care
French Schools Nutrition Policy
Public Schools Branch ‘Nutrition in Schools’ policy - Health Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy
-
Healthy Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy is aimed at enhancing food environments in Canada, making is easier for consumers to opt for healthier food choices. This is achieved through the improvement of healthy eating information, improving the nutrition quality of foods, and protecting vulnerable populations.
