summerlunch+ and SickKids Type 1 Diabetes Pilot Program Update

Article by: Megan Hipkin

We had a very exciting spring here at summerlunch+! 

This spring summerlunch+ partnered with SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University to deliver a virtual food skills and food literacy program for children with type 1 diabetes. This partnership was a great way to investigate the many potential benefits our program holds for disease management at an early age. Specifically highlighting the potential for reducing the impact of health conditions like type 1 diabetes. Food and cooking skills are associated with improved diet quality, consuming more fruits and vegetables, and a positive relationship with food. 

Building healthy habits and maintaining a nutritious and balanced diet is key to managing type 1 diabetes. Learning how to develop these healthy habits at an early age is so important. Our summerlunch+ at-home program fosters food skills and knowledge that allow children to learn these essential skills needed to be confident in the kitchen and when making nutritious food choices. 

The summerlunch+ at-home program was seamlessly adapted to include the Diabetes Canada Clinical Guidelines. In an eight-week program, we provided diabetes education while still including our content that improves children’s cooking skills and confidence in the kitchen, and providing education on nutrition and environmental sustainability. 

Weekly educational content was delivered through videos, activity sheets, quizzes, and diabetes-friendly recipes. The participants are supported through a Google classroom. This has been a space for the kids to connect with each other and receive support from program leaders. It was a positive and fun community for all involved! Live cooking classes were held at the end of each week, where the participants followed along and made new recipes while learning more about food skills and diabetes management. Ingredients for the recipes were provided each week to ensure the recipes were being prepared and enjoyed!  

This program was a huge hit and the children involved had so much fun! They shared photos of what they made each week and were highly engaged and involved in each step of the program! The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive as we are at the data collection stage. We will soon see the impact this program had on the children involved.

We hope to continue this successful partnership with SickKids in the future.