
Healthy Snacks for Sports
Providing healthy snacks at sports games gives adults the chance to show children that healthy eating and physical activity are a winning combination. Children learn about healthy eating at school, but they need support at home and in the community to help put those lessons into action. Well-nourished children can play better for longer, stay more alert and recover more quickly.
Take the actions below to:
- Change the food and eating culture within your team or league
- Show children that healthy eating and physical activity are a winning combination
- Be a role model to show how to fuel activity in a healthy way
- Guide children towards healthy active living
- Support efforts to feed children in a healthy way
What to do with your sports league or team | Resources to help |
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Review information about nutrition and physical activity in children. | UnlockFood.ca |
Decide whether to provide team snacks with coaches and parents. If the practice or game is light or close to meal times, you may only need water. | |
Announce your commitment to healthy eating. |
Letter to Parents (DOC, 30 kB) Letter of Support (PDF, 189 kB) |
If you have snacks at games:
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Snack Schedule (DOC, 44 kB) Snack Schedule Reminder (DOC, 26 kB) |
Role model healthy snacking by bringing the first fresh fruit snack. Encourage parents to follow your lead. | |
Share information on healthy eating and sports with parents. |
Share quick and healthy team snacks that can be purchased on-the-go (DOC, 36 kB) and information about healthy hydration (DOC, 19 kB) |
Write or advocate for a healthy eating policy for your team or league. |
Healthy snack policies for sports teams
A healthy snack policy is a clearly written standard that addresses when and what foods and beverages are offered or sold by the team or club at a community sporting event. Setting a clear policy about snacks helps create a healthy eating culture in children’s community sports.
Benefits of a healthy snack policy
There are benefits of healthy snack policies for coaches and administrators, parents and children.
Benefits for coaches and sports administrators
The benefits for coaches and administrators include:
- Shows parents and the local community that the team and league values the health of its members.
- Clearly states your team and league’s position about healthy eating.
- Shares healthy eating messages that support physical activity and enhance health and sport performance.
- Takes the guesswork out of choosing food and beverages for sporting events.
- Creates consistency from year to year.
- Clarifies expectations of sports administrators, coaches, players and parents.
Benefits for parents
The benefits of a healthy eating policy for parents include:
- Healthy food choices offered on a regular basis.
- Consistent messages about what to send for sporting events.
- Learning about healthy eating through the team, league and their own children.
- Support for families who value making healthy choices.
- Support for healthy behaviours.
Benefits for children
The benefits of a healthy eating policy for children include:
- Increased availability of nutritious foods.
- Exposure to positive role models for healthy eating.
- Consistent messages that reinforce school learning.
- An opportunity to develop skills in making healthy food choices.
- Makes the healthy food choice the easier choice.
Creating a healthy snack policy
When developing your healthy snack policy, consider:
- What you want to achieve
- How you will communicate your policy
- How to maximize adherence to the policy
- Who will monitor the policy
- What action to take when the policy is not followed
- How to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy
- How to receive feedback on the policy
- How to prepare the team and league for implementation, including start date
What to include in the policy
What? | Provide a summary and elaborate on the details of the healthy snack policy. |
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Why? | Provide background information and reasons for having a healthy snack policy. Include a statement that clearly explains your team or league's position. |
Who? |
List who is affected by the healthy snack policy (e.g., members, administrators, officials, coaches, leaders, participants, family, visitors, volunteers). |
Where? | List the locations where the healthy snack policy will and will not apply (e.g., the policy applies to group snacks; concession stands; field, gym, ice; practice, games, tournaments; home and away games; the policy does not apply to food families bring for their own consumption). |
When? | List the date when the healthy snack policy is in effect. |
How? | Outline how you will tell team members and parents about the policy. Outline how you will enforce the policy (e.g., verbal reminders, voluntary compliance). |
Questions? |
Insert appropriate contact information for questions, follow-up or feedback about the policy. |
Make the healthy snack policy a priority
You will need to get, and keep, healthy eating on your organization’s priority list to make it happen. Here are some suggestions on how to do this:
- Add the healthy snack policy to your organization’s board meeting agenda.
- Provide information to committee members about healthy eating.
- Invite a guest speaker to discuss the importance of healthy eating at community sporting events.
- Contact your local public health unit to request a consultation with a registered dietitian .
- Get support from leaders and members by sharing healthy eating policies from other organizations.
Keys to a successful policy
Here are some key items for a successful policy:
- Increase support for the policy by involving coaches, parents, children and others when developing it.
- Emphasize the benefits of a healthy eating policy for children, parents, coaches and the organization.
- Provide time for discussion and debate of the first draft with everyone who will be affected (youth, parents, volunteers, and coaches/leaders.) Take time to listen to concerns.
- Make sure your policy is clear and easy-to-read.
- Inform everybody affected by the policy, using clear and consistent promotion.
- Encourage voluntary compliance with the policy by setting an example for players and others.
- Remember that people can and do change their minds if there is resistance.
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