Innovate: Special Projects

FoodFit meets people where they’re at. Over a 12-week period, participants come together to cook, exercise, learn about and enjoy good food. They learn how to make simple, sustainable lifestyle changes that can improve their health and well-being. And our research-informed approach shows that it works.

Read about how Inuvik Community Greenhouse uses FoodFit to bring people in remote communities together. 

FoodFit was developed with input from a medical doctor, nutritionists, Community Food Centres Canada staff, and community members. It was launched as a pilot program in 2014, in partnership with The Local Community Food Centre in Stratford, ON. Since then, it’s become a core program for many of our partners across Canada.

FoodFit has been implemented in 40 communities across the country and supported more than 2,800 community members to improve their health.

Learn more about FoodFit’s impact in the 5-year Program Report

FoodFit grants have been made available through generous funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Multi-sectoral Partnership Grants Program.

Research shows that a diverse daily diet contributes to better nutrition and health outcomes. Fresh produce subsidies can instill long-term healthy eating habits and enable people to eat more fruits and vegetables with every meal.

There are two different program elements:
 

• Non-profit community markets that provide access to fresh, low-cost foods and offer Greens Prescriptions.
• Greens Prescriptions that provide a fresh produce voucher to people who are managing chronic and diet-related illnesses, including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Since 2018, Market Greens has been implemented in 28 communities across Canada and has supported more than 900 households to access fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Participants report that they’re eating more fruits and vegetables and are trying new ways of cooking more often and new types of foods than before they joined the program—including rediscovering a love of brussels sprouts! And it’s making a difference for people with diet-related health issues—Greens Rx participants have incorporated more nutritious foods, like vitamin-rich dark leafy greens, into their daily diets and have seen improvements in their physical health. 

Read more about how Market Greens is making good food more affordable 

Market Greens is made possible thanks to an investment from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the generous support of The Arrell Family Foundation and the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security.

Mind Your Food strengthens young peoples’ resilience and equips them with skills, knowledge, and confidence. 

For 11 weeks, youth between the ages of 13-19 explore nutrition, food traditions, and food justice through hands-on learning. Some examples include: 
 

• Preparing and sharing meals together
• Doing mindfulness activities and food journaling
• Collecting and sharing food stories from family and friends 
• Taking field trips to go fishing, kayaking, medicine picking, and fire making
• Picking fruit and donating part of the harvest back to their community

Since the pilot launched in November 2019, Mind Your Food has supported over 400 youth in Birch Narrows Dene Nation, Iqaluit, Natoaganeg First Nation, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. 

Mind Your Food is funded through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund (MHP-IF), which provides national funding to support the delivery of innovative, community-based programs in mental health promotion. Additional support is generously provided by Balsam Foundation and Timothy Eaton Memorial Committee.