A Fresh and Healthy Start to the School Year: #EatWell&Win! Enter @HSFHealthCheck #B2SContest

The Heart and Stroke Foundation's Health Check program has launched a Back to School Eat Well & Win contest to help families get a fresh and healthy start to the new school year.

To view the Social Media Release, click here: http://smr.newswire.ca/en/heart-and-stroke-foundation/a-fresh-and-healthy-start-to-the-school-year

OTTAWA, Aug. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Healthy eating is one of the most important things you can do for your family's health and is key to success at school. A healthy breakfast, snacks and meals throughout the day helps children concentrate, be more alert and creative, and more physically active.

Ten winners (one from each province) of the #EatWell&Win #B2SContest will enjoy a $1,000 grocery gift card, and there are daily prizes including lunch bags, knap sacks, water bottles, cook books etc. Participants can share their own healthy lunch and snack tips, stories, photos and videos.

The contest website offers tips, tools and resources from registered dietitians including five weeks of healthy snack and lunch menus and recipes, and a link to download the free Health Check recipe helper app.

Enter the Health Check Back to School Eat Well & Win contest at healthcheck.org/backtoschool

Highlights

• Back to school is a time for fresh starts. It is the perfect opportunity to make healthy changes that will last throughout the year.
• Health Check gives Canadians a healthy start to the school year. Enter the Eat Well & Win Back to School Contest to win:
• One of 10 $1,000 grocery gift cards.
• Daily prizes including knap sacks, lunch bags, water bottles, cook books and more.
• Get five weeks of healthy snack and lunch menus developed by the Foundation's registered dietitians.
• Download the free Health Check Recipe Helper app
• Share your healthy snack and lunch tips, stories, photos and videos.

Health Check polling¹ found that virtually all parents want their children to have healthy snacks and lunches at school every day but there are some challenges to doing this:

• The majority (84%) of children's snacks and lunches are packed at home.
• Two out of every three kids take a packed lunch to school five days a week.
• 98% of parents say it is important their children eat healthy snacks and lunches at school every day.
• The biggest challenge faced by parents when preparing healthy packed lunches and snacks for children is that kids don't like what is provided. One-quarter report their kids are picky eaters and didn't like what is put in their lunch.  The next most reported barriers or challenges to providing healthy snacks were:
• variety in the lunch box (17%)
• not being able to find healthy items (12%)
• lack of time to prepare healthy snacks (11%)
• cost (7%).
• Only 5% of parents report their children demand unhealthy food.

^References:

^{1. The poll was conducted by Environics, telephone omnibus between July 5 to 28, 2011 with a total of 770 parents of children under the age of 18. Results are accurate within plus or minus 3.53 percent, nineteen times out of twenty.}

About Health Check

Healthy eating is one of the best things Canadians can do to improve their overall health. Health Check is one important way the Heart and Stroke Foundation helps Canadians eat well. All Health Check items meet nutrient criteria developed by the Foundation's registered dietitians based on recommendations in Canada's Food Guide. Health Check works directly with food companies and restaurants to improve the food supply by challenging them to meet stronger nutrient criteria and offer Canadians more healthy choices. Health Check is the only non-profit, independent, and neutral food information program in the country. For more information visit healthcheck.org.

SOURCE HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF CANADA