What's in your food environment?

Your food environment includes all the things around you that involve what you decide to put in your body (i.e. eat!). Of course the food environment that we first think of is the kitchen. What's in your kitchen was already discussed on a previous post.

What we choose to surround ourselves directly effects what we put in our bodies. If your dorm room is filled with munchies like potato chips and cookies – that’s what you will end up eating. If you fill your environment with healthy food then that’s what you will end up eating. Seems simple but here's where it gets complicated.

As students, we don’t spend all of our time in one place. We are constantly on the go. So we are constantly moving through different environments. Between classes we grab whatever is quickest and most accessible - a coffee shop or cafeteria. There aren’t always healthy options there – and often there aren’t affordable healthy options. (for more on eating healthy on a budget see a past post!!)

Even YOU can be a food environment. Do you load up a book bag, or purse, or more commonly: a backpack and then run off to class. You can pack a lunch, or a couple pieces of fruit. You can also pack beverages so you don’t end up just grabbing whatever you can find on campus. The other advantage of this is you can pack exactly what you know you want for later in the day. You don’t have to compromise by grabbing whatever is on hand in the campus environment.

At the campus that our team is based there is a new way of thinking about food being launched by the School of Nutrition. It’s called FRESH : Food Resources and Education for Student Health. This movement is dedicated towards making fresh, healthy foods available throughout the food environment on campus and in residences. Another very useful feature they have been promoting is “FRESH :Approved” items from menus in residence cafeterias. This information is available online and readily accessible  at: http://freshu.ca/fresh-programs/fresh-approved/ . : 

So a question you should ask yourself before you dash off to class tomorrow is: What am I going to put in my food environment today. You can make the decision of putting something healthy in yourbackpack, you deserve it!!



If you have any questions, please e-mail us at mphteamone@gmail.com

References:
Fresh. (2015) Fresh Approved. Retrieved from: http://freshu.ca/fresh-programs/fresh-approved/

Health Canada. (2013) Measuring the Food Environment in Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/pol/som-ex-sum-environ-eng.php