| If you cannot see the APPLY button to the right, please ensure you are viewing the site as an organization, rather than an individual. If you have an organization account already set up, you can switch to it by clicking your name at the top left of the site and selecting your organization name instead. If you don't have an organization profile, see the section Technical Support below for instructions on how to set one up. |
Everything you need to know about FoodFit
FoodFit is a community-based health promotion program designed, managed and evaluated by Community Food Centres Canada, with funding available through the generous support of donors. The program has been delivered by partners from coast to coast to coast, who adapt program materials for their specific cultural and geographical context. Program participants generally enter the program with a desire to make some kind of lifestyle change to support their health. Over the course of the 12 week program participants learn nutrition and health basics, reflect on their beliefs and perspectives about what health means for them, practice new recipes/techniques and movement practices, and connect with a caring community of peers to support them on their journey.
After seven years of delivery in over 30 communities, we spent time over 2021-22 to reimagine FoodFit and build on the “magic” that has led to this program being so impactful. We did this in conversation and collaboration with many partners who had experience facilitating the program. We are on the other side of this redesign process now, and are ready to test out what we’ve created with a new cohort of partners - and ready for the feedback that you have to offer us!
Some of the exciting changes we’re excited to share include:
Further emphasis on values. We are committed to exploring health in a way that is grounded in body respect and fat acceptance, a nourishing relationship with food and movement, adaptability based on cultural context/community, and a whole-health approach - making room for participants to explore how food, movement and connection support mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health - all while emphasizing relationships and belonging at the heart of the program.
Shifting the curriculum from a PDF manual to content that is more easily customizable. It is hosted on an intuitive and easy to use virtual platform called HowSpace (see below for a sneak peek!)
Re-imagining curriculum content to better capture the four aspects of the program that make it resonate for participants - reflection, connection, practice and learning. Further curriculum changes include:
Shifting from an exercise mindset to a movement mindset.
An emphasis on neutral information about nutrition - ensuring that participants understand the function that the food they are eating serves, with less emphasis on ideas of good/bad food. The suggested nutrition topics include:
Understanding Whole Health
A Balanced Plate
Mindful Eating and Diet Diversity
Proteins and Power
Energizing Ourselves with Carbohydrates
Phenomenal Fats
Sweet Treats
Shopping on a Budget/Nutritional Bang for Your Buck
Breakfasts and Snacks
Exploring Foods from Other Cultures
The Power of Eating Together
Integrating a more active reflective practice component into the program, to reflect individually as well as with partners and in the group.
Emphasizing relationship building and the joy of eating, cooking and moving together.
Four on-demand virtual training modules that are grounded in a popular education approach - meaning that as facilitators are engaging with the content, they are also learning from each other. These modules include:
Anti-Oppressive Facilitation
Enhancing Engagement and Participation in Programs
Customizing Program Content
Tips and Tricks for Engaging Participants in Evaluation
Partnership with two anchor sites (The Alex Community Food Centre and DIVERSECity Community Resource Centre), who will offer ongoing coaching and support to new partners facilitating FoodFit, as well as facilitate collective knowledge sharing swaps to support professional development opportunities for facilitators.
The creation of a virtual community of practice for each FoodFit module, where facilitators can share tricks, tips, adaptations and other information to support each other.
See below for a quick video demo of the platform we are using.
FoodFit is not a weight loss program, nor does it solve the complex issues like poverty and food insecurity that many of our fellow community members deal with. The program is designed to consider whole health and to create a caring space for participants to identify what aspects of their health mean the most to them, and to facilitate an experience that supports them in moving towards these goals in the ways that they can.
How we understand health is also deeply tied to culture and identity. While FoodFit has been developed by a white & settler led organization that exists in the context of a Western worldview, we are committed to being curious about other ways of knowing and being and how the program can be reimagined in a variety of cultural contexts. Here are some exciting examples of how FoodFit has been adapted to reflect diverse worldviews:
DIVERSECity(Surrey, B.C) has translated program content material into different languages (including Punjabi and Arabic) and changed recipes to reflect the different cultural needs for the many communities they work with.
The Indigenous Programming Coordinator at The Alex CFC (Calgary, AB) adapted the content about nutrition to emphasize Indigenous foods and ways of eating. Another facilitator at The Alex took parts of the curriculum and repackaged it to serve her Bangladeshi community in understanding how to care for themselves as they prepared to fast for Ramadan.
Qajuqturvik CFC (Iqaluit, NU) integrated land-based movement practices like clam-digging into their FoodFit programming to better reflect the realities of living in the North.
We’re really excited about these changes to FoodFit and about collaborating with partners to continue to strengthen this program. Most of all, we are excited to build a community of practice together - one where we are all learning from each other and exploring what it means to offer health promotion programming in ways that truly reflect the needs and desires of the diverse communities we work with, in deeply transformative ways.
“FoodFit is the gold standard for how we plan the rest of our programs. It has taught us so much about program development and how to consider planning from start to finish.”
Darrell Howard, The Alex CFC
Grant Overview
This year we are experimenting with a new grant format - micro-grants for organizations who have staff capacity to deliver the program and work in collaboration with us to continue to shape and form the program. We are emerging from this redesign process with a new ethos and are experimenting with different ways of working with our partners. We are seeking grant partners who we can work collaboratively with to experiment and try these new methods we’ve created - partners who can be open-minded and patient as we learn together.
We will be distributing grants to 10 partners, in allotments of $5000 each. Organizations are able to spend the grant money to cover any program related cost - for example, food, supplies, and/or honoraria for guest facilitators.
Along with the grant, we are delighted to offer:
A paid-for membership to Howspace, where the program content and training is hosted.
Four complimentary on-demand training modules for beginner/intermediate facilitators to explore their facilitation practice.
Coaching and mentoring from experienced facilitators who hold subject matter expertise in Indigenizing program content, making program content culturally relevant, creating spaces of radical belonging, body respect and liberation, and much more.
Access to an asynchronous virtual community of practice where facilitators can ask for tips from peers and offer support to each other as the program is being delivered.
Knowledge swaps on Zoom to ask real-time questions of peers, as well as guest speakers who offer subject matter expertise about different topics.
We are seeking the following from the organizations we partner with:
You must have staff who are already being paid to facilitate food programming and will be paid to facilitate FoodFit as a part of their job.
Staff members who facilitate the program are open to participating in an evaluation process to support the ongoing refinement and growth of the program.
For this round of FoodFit, we will be relying heavily on an intuitive and easy to use online training and social platform for facilitators. Facilitators must be open to learning to use this platform and engaging with it on an ongoing basis - we promise it will be simple!
Facilitators will need to dedicate about 20-25 hrs over the course of a few weeks to reviewing training materials before facilitating FoodFit. This includes:
Self paced: 12-15 hours for four facilitator training modules. The modules are available on-demand and contain a mixture of activities in front of and away from the computer.
Self paced: 5-7 hours to review FoodFit specific content and review curriculum content. This will be in front of a computer.
Real time: 1–3 hours of calls with the FoodFit program manager, anchor site FoodFit facilitators, and grantee cohort to discuss any questions and meet your peers. This will be done on Zoom, with the option of phone calls for some of the meetings.
Your organization must already be committed to or willing to explore a whole health perspective to food programming. We define whole health as looking beyond the biomedical model and approaching health as spiritual, mental, emotional and physical, & rooted in equity, belonging and community.
To apply, please click on "Apply" and complete the application form.
Technical support
In order to apply, you will need to have an organization profile set up. If you have an organization account already set up, you should be able to switch by clicking your name at the top left of the site and switching to your organization.
If you do not have an organization profile, you will need to set one up by follow these steps:
- Go to My Account (in the menu that appears when you click on your name at the top right)
- Scroll down and click the button Set up Organization and complete the fields.
- Once completed, be sure that your Organization name appears at the top left of the site (toggle from your name to the Organization).
- Return to the Programs page and select the program you wish to apply for.
See this User Guide for complete details.
CFCC will be hosting an information session on July 5, 2023 at 10AM Pacific/11AM Mountain/12PM Central/1PM Eastern/2PM Atlantic. You are invited to attend if you have further questions, and can register by clicking here.
FoodFit 2023
| If you cannot see the APPLY button to the right, please ensure you are viewing the site as an organization, rather than an individual. If you have an organization account already set up, you can switch to it by clicking your name at the top left of the site and selecting your organization name instead. If you don't have an organization profile, see the section Technical Support below for instructions on how to set one up. |
Everything you need to know about FoodFit
FoodFit is a community-based health promotion program designed, managed and evaluated by Community Food Centres Canada, with funding available through the generous support of donors. The program has been delivered by partners from coast to coast to coast, who adapt program materials for their specific cultural and geographical context. Program participants generally enter the program with a desire to make some kind of lifestyle change to support their health. Over the course of the 12 week program participants learn nutrition and health basics, reflect on their beliefs and perspectives about what health means for them, practice new recipes/techniques and movement practices, and connect with a caring community of peers to support them on their journey.
After seven years of delivery in over 30 communities, we spent time over 2021-22 to reimagine FoodFit and build on the “magic” that has led to this program being so impactful. We did this in conversation and collaboration with many partners who had experience facilitating the program. We are on the other side of this redesign process now, and are ready to test out what we’ve created with a new cohort of partners - and ready for the feedback that you have to offer us!
Some of the exciting changes we’re excited to share include:
Further emphasis on values. We are committed to exploring health in a way that is grounded in body respect and fat acceptance, a nourishing relationship with food and movement, adaptability based on cultural context/community, and a whole-health approach - making room for participants to explore how food, movement and connection support mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health - all while emphasizing relationships and belonging at the heart of the program.
Shifting the curriculum from a PDF manual to content that is more easily customizable. It is hosted on an intuitive and easy to use virtual platform called HowSpace (see below for a sneak peek!)
Re-imagining curriculum content to better capture the four aspects of the program that make it resonate for participants - reflection, connection, practice and learning. Further curriculum changes include:
Shifting from an exercise mindset to a movement mindset.
An emphasis on neutral information about nutrition - ensuring that participants understand the function that the food they are eating serves, with less emphasis on ideas of good/bad food. The suggested nutrition topics include:
Understanding Whole Health
A Balanced Plate
Mindful Eating and Diet Diversity
Proteins and Power
Energizing Ourselves with Carbohydrates
Phenomenal Fats
Sweet Treats
Shopping on a Budget/Nutritional Bang for Your Buck
Breakfasts and Snacks
Exploring Foods from Other Cultures
The Power of Eating Together
Integrating a more active reflective practice component into the program, to reflect individually as well as with partners and in the group.
Emphasizing relationship building and the joy of eating, cooking and moving together.
Four on-demand virtual training modules that are grounded in a popular education approach - meaning that as facilitators are engaging with the content, they are also learning from each other. These modules include:
Anti-Oppressive Facilitation
Enhancing Engagement and Participation in Programs
Customizing Program Content
Tips and Tricks for Engaging Participants in Evaluation
Partnership with two anchor sites (The Alex Community Food Centre and DIVERSECity Community Resource Centre), who will offer ongoing coaching and support to new partners facilitating FoodFit, as well as facilitate collective knowledge sharing swaps to support professional development opportunities for facilitators.
The creation of a virtual community of practice for each FoodFit module, where facilitators can share tricks, tips, adaptations and other information to support each other.
See below for a quick video demo of the platform we are using.
FoodFit is not a weight loss program, nor does it solve the complex issues like poverty and food insecurity that many of our fellow community members deal with. The program is designed to consider whole health and to create a caring space for participants to identify what aspects of their health mean the most to them, and to facilitate an experience that supports them in moving towards these goals in the ways that they can.
How we understand health is also deeply tied to culture and identity. While FoodFit has been developed by a white & settler led organization that exists in the context of a Western worldview, we are committed to being curious about other ways of knowing and being and how the program can be reimagined in a variety of cultural contexts. Here are some exciting examples of how FoodFit has been adapted to reflect diverse worldviews:
DIVERSECity(Surrey, B.C) has translated program content material into different languages (including Punjabi and Arabic) and changed recipes to reflect the different cultural needs for the many communities they work with.
The Indigenous Programming Coordinator at The Alex CFC (Calgary, AB) adapted the content about nutrition to emphasize Indigenous foods and ways of eating. Another facilitator at The Alex took parts of the curriculum and repackaged it to serve her Bangladeshi community in understanding how to care for themselves as they prepared to fast for Ramadan.
Qajuqturvik CFC (Iqaluit, NU) integrated land-based movement practices like clam-digging into their FoodFit programming to better reflect the realities of living in the North.
We’re really excited about these changes to FoodFit and about collaborating with partners to continue to strengthen this program. Most of all, we are excited to build a community of practice together - one where we are all learning from each other and exploring what it means to offer health promotion programming in ways that truly reflect the needs and desires of the diverse communities we work with, in deeply transformative ways.
“FoodFit is the gold standard for how we plan the rest of our programs. It has taught us so much about program development and how to consider planning from start to finish.”
Darrell Howard, The Alex CFC
Grant Overview
This year we are experimenting with a new grant format - micro-grants for organizations who have staff capacity to deliver the program and work in collaboration with us to continue to shape and form the program. We are emerging from this redesign process with a new ethos and are experimenting with different ways of working with our partners. We are seeking grant partners who we can work collaboratively with to experiment and try these new methods we’ve created - partners who can be open-minded and patient as we learn together.
We will be distributing grants to 10 partners, in allotments of $5000 each. Organizations are able to spend the grant money to cover any program related cost - for example, food, supplies, and/or honoraria for guest facilitators.
Along with the grant, we are delighted to offer:
A paid-for membership to Howspace, where the program content and training is hosted.
Four complimentary on-demand training modules for beginner/intermediate facilitators to explore their facilitation practice.
Coaching and mentoring from experienced facilitators who hold subject matter expertise in Indigenizing program content, making program content culturally relevant, creating spaces of radical belonging, body respect and liberation, and much more.
Access to an asynchronous virtual community of practice where facilitators can ask for tips from peers and offer support to each other as the program is being delivered.
Knowledge swaps on Zoom to ask real-time questions of peers, as well as guest speakers who offer subject matter expertise about different topics.
We are seeking the following from the organizations we partner with:
You must have staff who are already being paid to facilitate food programming and will be paid to facilitate FoodFit as a part of their job.
Staff members who facilitate the program are open to participating in an evaluation process to support the ongoing refinement and growth of the program.
For this round of FoodFit, we will be relying heavily on an intuitive and easy to use online training and social platform for facilitators. Facilitators must be open to learning to use this platform and engaging with it on an ongoing basis - we promise it will be simple!
Facilitators will need to dedicate about 20-25 hrs over the course of a few weeks to reviewing training materials before facilitating FoodFit. This includes:
Self paced: 12-15 hours for four facilitator training modules. The modules are available on-demand and contain a mixture of activities in front of and away from the computer.
Self paced: 5-7 hours to review FoodFit specific content and review curriculum content. This will be in front of a computer.
Real time: 1–3 hours of calls with the FoodFit program manager, anchor site FoodFit facilitators, and grantee cohort to discuss any questions and meet your peers. This will be done on Zoom, with the option of phone calls for some of the meetings.
Your organization must already be committed to or willing to explore a whole health perspective to food programming. We define whole health as looking beyond the biomedical model and approaching health as spiritual, mental, emotional and physical, & rooted in equity, belonging and community.
To apply, please click on "Apply" and complete the application form.
Technical support
In order to apply, you will need to have an organization profile set up. If you have an organization account already set up, you should be able to switch by clicking your name at the top left of the site and switching to your organization.
If you do not have an organization profile, you will need to set one up by follow these steps:
- Go to My Account (in the menu that appears when you click on your name at the top right)
- Scroll down and click the button Set up Organization and complete the fields.
- Once completed, be sure that your Organization name appears at the top left of the site (toggle from your name to the Organization).
- Return to the Programs page and select the program you wish to apply for.
See this User Guide for complete details.
CFCC will be hosting an information session on July 5, 2023 at 10AM Pacific/11AM Mountain/12PM Central/1PM Eastern/2PM Atlantic. You are invited to attend if you have further questions, and can register by clicking here.