Health and Social Services Minister Chester Gillan attended the launch to officially proclaim the week of March 6 to 12 as Healthy Eating Week in Prince Edward Island. “I encourage people to take part in the many activities planned this week to help us make healthy eating a part of our daily lives,” said the minister. “The Healthy Eating Alliance is making great strides to help us understand and improve our eating habits. There is a huge demand for information about healthy eating and the new website certainly responds to this need.”

Alliance co-chair Bob Gray said the website has something for everyone. “It has helpful information for families on how to pack healthy lunches and plan healthy meals. It will provide teachers with classroom resources and information on new school nutrition policies. It also includes recipes, healthy eating tips and fun activities for kids,” he said. “We encourage people to visit the site and provide us with their comments.”

Alliance co-chair Wendy MacDonald indicated that more and more people are using the Internet to find information on health and lifestyle choices. “Our new site includes made-for-PEI information as well as links to other credible information resources. We hope Islanders will visit our site as a first step in their search for good information on healthy eating,” she said.

Ms. MacDonald advised that the Alliance has many activities planned this year to encourage more healthy eating choices in Island schools and communities. “By providing the public with more information on our initiatives, we hope to further engage them in our school and community partnerships,” she said.

The site was launched at West Kent School with the assistance of Ken MacDougall’s grade six students and parents. Mr. MacDougall said teachers and parents are beginning to see positive results from healthy eating activities now taking place in Island schools. “We are seeing more positive attitudes towards healthy eating in the classroom and we are getting very positive feedback from parents on the support that schools are providing to encourage children to eat healthier,” he said. “Now, teachers and parents will be able to visit one central website for information on local healthy eating initiatives.”

The site is located at www.healthyeatingPEI.ca.