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Food and Nutrition Policy for Nova Scotia Public Schools

Research confirms what teachers have known for a long time - health, nutrition, and learning are linked. Healthy, nourished students who feel safe are better able to learn, perform in class, and attend school more regularly. Those who achieve higher levels of education tend to experience better health as adults.

For these and many other reasons, food and beverages served and sold in schools should be primarily for the purposes of nourishment. Students need healthy food during the school day to sustain the energy and concentration required for learning. To help ensure access to healthy food and beverages, it’s important that they are affordably priced.

The promotion and sale of healthy food and beverages in school reinforces the nutrition messages taught in the classroom and at home. When food and beverages of limited nutritional value (i.e. those that are high in sugars, sweeteners, fat, salt, and caffeine) are available or promoted to students at school, it becomes increasingly difficult to limit intakes.

Together with the home and other settings, schools can positively influence students’ food choices and eating habits. Parents and other caregivers are the primary role models for health behaviours in children and youth. School food policies and programs can complement the efforts of parents and other caregivers to ensure proper nutrition for children and youth in the school setting.

Eating well and being active take more than willpower. A policy that supports healthy food and beverage choices can help ensure that the healthy choice is the easy choice in schools.

Policy documents are available in English and French from:
The Department of Education
The Department of Health and Wellness