Special Projects
OSNP Programs run in collaboration of OSNP Community Development Coordinators and School Staff. Because of this, students have not had as much opportunity to shape the programs that are aimed at them. We want to hear from our youth to ensure that they are well nourished, feel safe and included, and see themselves and their culture represented in school food programs.
OSNP has created an Introduction Package and Toolkit, aimed at secondary students, to increase involvement in student nutrition programs. In the 2023.24 school year, we are piloted this kit in a Windsor High school, as well as providing direction to our school coordinators on how to implement this toolkit.
Kennedy Collegiate Grade 12 Student Majd Ishoaibi.
“Good food fuels not just our bodies, but our futures. We can all make a difference if we try.”
In the 2024-2025 school year, OSNP embraced an opportunity to team up with the Coalition for Healthy School Food in a special student engagement project. Working with Kennedy Collegiate Secondary
School, we provided the chance for students to create a Student Nutrition Advisory Committee – Kennedy or SNAC-K. The SNAC-K group assessed their school food environment and then developed some
recommendations for their own food programs. The culmination of the initiative, was a short film
“Food For Thought” where the students told their own school food stories that reflected their experiences and vision for the community, province and country. As Supervisor of Community Relations Danielle Findlay reminds us, “we recognize that programs are designed best when there is space at the
table for those with lived experience. Giving the students a voice lets them be seen and heard.”
OSNP had a second opportunity to work with some dynamic students when the Greater Essex County District School Board Student Senate reached out. These students were interested in learning about OSNP and specifically the work that we do in Elementary schools. The Senate helped us to direct some support and add a student nutrition program to an elementary school, then then facilitated a focus group with those students. They also created some materials to share with their peers to help secondary students understand what OSNP is and how it impacts students.
To examine the benefits of centrally procuring food for student nutrition programs, in the 2024/25 school year, OSNP piloted a program in Sarnia-Lambton that will diverted all ministry and community funds to provide an enhanced SFD program at no extra cost to the school. By working with registered dietitians and the SFD team, this pilot program will measured adherence to MCCSS nutrition standards, food safety during transportation, accountability of funding and reporting, volunteer capacity, food volumes, volumes of local food, and the capacity for growth.
In the 2023.24 and 2024.25 school years, OSNP teamed up with local restaurant owners across Chatham-Kent (CK) to raise both awareness and funds for student nutrition programs. Proceeds from bowls of soup sold for one week in March at participating restaurants went to support OSNP Chatham-Kent and, in turn, local student nutrition programs across CK!
To build on this campaign, secondary and elementary schools across CK hosted special food events throughout the same week in March. Schools had special guests in to serve specialty items to students, in celebration of Nutrition Month.
OSNP’s Cultural Menu Enhancement Pilot Project is in alignment with our equity and inclusion framework, ensuring that all students feel represented in school food programs, regardless of faith or culture. The project aims to:
-Engage students that are historically under-represented
-Create opportunities for cultural celebrations within the school community that lead to greater feelings of inclusion and acceptance
-Provide more opportunities for students to feel affirmed by their peers
-Assist with capacity building by allowing our OSNP team to engage in new dynamic partnerships, strengthening school community connections and providing knowledge translation and resources at the school level
OSNP has partnered with Growing Chefs Ontario, a food literacy and education non-profit organization, on a pilot program that provides culturally relevant menu enhancements and resources to elementary and secondary students at identified schools in London. The literacy resources, made in collaboration with knowledge keepers and cultural advisors, can be tailored from JK to grade 12 and are designed to provide education and engagement around the accompanying menu items. These recipes are created with ingredients that are often locally sourced, providing a cost-effective, culturally relevant and nourishing menu option for London Middlesex Student Nutrition Programs that may otherwise be costly if purchased as a prepackaged item.
The project continued into the 2024.25 school year and has since expanded regionally. Learn more: https://osnp.ca/cultural-celebrations/
In 2024 OSNP became one of several partners with St. Clair College in a research project funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). St. Clair coordinated the
development of the framework for a school lunch and food literacy program in collaboration with OSNP, Green Heart Kitchen; Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and United Way Windsor Essex
Chatham Kent. In February 2025 the ‘Collaboratively Addressing Food Insecurity’ project launched in an inner-city Windsor school. The project included well-balanced and culturally diverse lunches twice weekly,
along with a food literacy program designed with assistance from AgScape. The project both nourished students and deepened their understanding of where food comes from.
In the 2022/2023 school year, we will be expanding our work with the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre to assist School Food Delivery Programs to offer an extra food group to their snack program. This partnership will allow us to utilize food donations, reduce school volunteer time and purchase additional food groups in an affordable manner.
During the summer of 2022, OSNP utilized a combination of COVID relief funds and donations to provide summer snack bags and fill the gap of student nutrition programs in the summer months. Bags were filled with fresh produce, milk, yogurt, cheese, and whole grain items.
Alongside these summer snack bags, OSNP partnered with GrowingChefs! Ontario to provide frozen nutritious meals for families. Snack bags and frozen meals were available for pickup on Tuesdays in July and August (9 weeks total), and reached a total of 55 families each week.
We hope to continue this program in the future and are looking for sponsors, reach out to Jody or Katherine if you have an interest!
GrowingChefs! has partnered with OSNP London-Middlesex to support a number of families associated with White Oaks Public School. They grow and prepare fresh produce bags to be distributed monthly. GrowingChefs! has build and maintains a bountiful Hoop House/Green House at the GrowingChefs! Education Centre at the Western Fair grounds, allowing their produce to rejuvenate and be harvested once a month.
As well, GrowingChefs! prepares 90 Frozen Meal kits to be distributed to both our Summer Snack Bag program, White Oaks families and VON Family Supports families.
Lunch bags, reusable containers, and reusable water bottles were provided to a number of elementary and secondary school students, along with food boxes to put together healthy packed lunches. Three food box menu options were available: meat, vegetarian, and halal. Students were able to receive food boxes throughout April, May, and June 2022, made possible by a grant from Harvest Fresh and OSNP Chatham-Kent’s partnership with TMG Foodland Dresden.
A portion of schools in Windsor-Essex offed a hot breakfast in addition to their OSNP snack programs prior to COVID-19. This became impossible once regulations were put in place, therefore, programming had to pivot.
In the 2021.22 school year, 3 food group breakfast bags were delivered to a total of 20 schools for 10 weeks each. Breakfast bags were filled with pre-packed and pre-portioned items to safely be served to students.
Examples: Cereal, milk, & a banana; or Granola bar, cheese string, & an apple
During the 2021/2022 school year, Huron and Perth OSNPs partnered with the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre to assist families by providing family food boxes that were delivered to the schools.
Beginning in January 2022, OSNP Oxford partnered with First Baptist Church to launch a lunch program in response to student needs and challenges created COVID-19. First Baptist Church volunteers started out preparing lunch for two Tillsonburg schools, which and has since expanded to include a third school. The church has a team of volunteers aka the ”Lunch Bunch” that prepares 35-40 lunches every school day at their inspected church kitchen. Each lunch typically includes a main dish (wrap, sandwich, salad, etc.), a fruit, a vegetable, and a dessert/snack type food (granola bar, cookie, etc.).
Ontario Student Nutrition Program – Oxford (through Southwestern Public Health) provided start-up funds for the pilot of this program, and assisted in drafting a letter for the church to solicit donations from community organizations to help with the long-term funding of the project.
As OSNP programming pivoted with school closures faced in 2020, 2021, and 2022, OSNP Chatham-Kent partnered with United Way to receive referrals to provide grocery gift cards to families with students. Grocery gift cards were also available at schools for virtual students as they picked up materials and resources.
This initiative transitioned into a partnership with TMG Foodland Dresden, who was able to facilitate the distribution of Food Boxes to families referred through schools. Food box distribution was well received by community members and continued until Aug 2022. Support for virtual students also transitioned to food pantry’s at schools for students to access when they attended.