May 2
Free "Nutrition for You" Seminars Designed to Help All Age Groups Make Healthy Food Choices
Victoria, BC, May 2, 2008 - Thrifty Foods,
along with the University of Victoria and participating Community
Recreation Centers, today jointly-announced that people in all age
groups - from youths to seniors - can learn how to make healthier food
choices through a series of free "Nutrition for You" educational
seminars being offered over the next two years across Vancouver Island
and the Lower Mainland.
The seminars, which will help participants learn about food shopping, food preparation and how to interpret label ingredients, have been formulated - and will be led - by certified dietitians appointed for the "Nutrition for You" program.
With financial support from Thrifty Foods in celebration of the company's 30th anniversary, and benefitting from research conducted by the University of Victoria to determine the effectiveness of this initiative, participating Community Recreation Centers will offer the free nutritional seminars in four formats, each designed specifically for youths aged nine to 12 years, adults, adults in the workplace, and seniors.
"These free seminars are meant to address a growing health problem that is unique to a country as blessed as Canada - that is, the consequences of choosing the wrong foods from the vast selection that is so easily available to us," said Thrifty Foods CEO Milford Sorensen. "I'm proud that, as one of Canada's most respected food retailers, Thrifty Foods is supporting seminars designed to help people of all ages make smarter choices that will give them a better chance for a longer, healthier life," he added.
Many seminar participants will have the opportunity to take a guided tour of a Thrifty Foods store to learn how to apply their newly-acquired food-choice skills. Some lucky winners will be awarded Thrifty Foods Smile Cards to help them purchase the foods they choose.
The University of Victoria will contribute to this program by assigning co-op students to conduct research that will document the effectiveness of the seminars to determine whether the new knowledge about food acquired by participants results in a change in behaviour.
"UVic is very pleased that Thrifty Foods is choosing to celebrate its 30th anniversary celebrations by generously supporting our co-op program," says Valerie Kuehne, UVic's Vice President, External Relations. "Not only will this support provide a valuable community-based learning experience for our students, it will add to our expanding knowledge about how to improve the health of our communities and our citizens."
Delivering the free seminars through the 17 participating Community Recreation Centers is considered to be the best way of ensuring they are accessible to as many people as possible.
"Community Recreation Centers are ideal community settings in which to provide expertise and venues for educational opportunities such as these seminars," says Lorna Curtis, Project Manager for the "Nutrition for You" Program. "In partnering with Thrifty Foods and UVic, we are able to offer superior quality nutrition education to a large audience. Collaboration such as this increases the community's capacity to affect change in the behaviour and health of our citizens," she added.
The Nutrition for You initiative is a first-ever partnership between Business (Thrifty Foods), Education (UVic) and the community (Community Recreation Centers) in providing people of all ages with the opportunity to better manage their diets and their health.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathy Kucan, Thrifty Foods - 250-483-1659
Patty Pitts, University of Victoria - 250-721-7656
Lorna Curtis, Community Recreation Centers - 250-370-7121