About Us

The Nutrition Resource Centre (NRC) was established in 1999 to increase the level of coordinated provincial support of nutrition promotion programming, resource development and dissemination, and support services for nutrition practitioners. NRC is an initiative of the Ontario Public Health Association and is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion.

Our Mission

The goal of the Nutrition Resource Centre is to strengthen the capacity of nutrition practitioners in communities across Ontario to deliver quality nutrition programming in a health promotion context. We work to achieve this goal by:
  • Developing, promoting, disseminating and supporting implementation of provincial nutrition programs and resources;
  • Creating opportunities to network and share information about community nutrition practice; and
  • Providing updates about key developments in the field of community nutrition.

Our Services

The Nutrition Resource Centre aims to achieve its goal by working in the following areas:
  • Provincial Management and Coordination
    We support the effective implementation of the following provincial programs:

    • Colour It Up / Plus de couleur is a community-based, behaviour-change program designed to promote increased vegetable and fruit consumption to women between the ages of 19-50 and their families.
    • Community Food Advisor is a volunteer-based peer education program. Volunteers are trained to provide reliable information and education to promote safe and nutritious food selection, preparation and storage to consumers in Ontario.
    • Eat Smart!® / Ŕ votre santé® is an award program that recognizes and promotes food service venues that meet exceptional standards in healthy food choices, safe food handling and 100% smoke-free seating.
    • NutriSTEP® is a parent-administered 17-item questionnaire that covers the nutritional risk constructs for the preschool population (3-5 years). It is a fast and simple way to assess eating habits and identify nutrition problems early, including growth and overweight issues.
  • Networking and Referrals
    We develop linkages with and between key nutrition promotion stakeholders. We stay up-to-date on nutrition trends, issues and effective interventions, and provide advice to the Ministry of Health Promotion and other partners.
  • Information and Knowledge Exchange
    We develop and disseminate nutrition promotion resources and program materials for Ontario practitioners, and promote resource-sharing among nutrition practitioners. Visit the NRC Resources page for more information. We strive to keep nutrition promotion practitioners in Ontario up-to-date through a variety of communication channels, including Contact-nrc, our electronic mailing list, which has over 1800 subscribers, listservs for the provincial programs and Nutri-notes, a listserv for French-language nutrition professionals.
  • Our Newsletter
    April 21, 2010: NRC launches NRC Nibbles - designed to keep you informed about NRC's activities, programs and projects, and replacing NRC Digest. In this inaugural issue, NRC Manager Cindy Scythes reflects on NRC's tenth anniversary, and we provide some exciting news on our provincial programs. We look forward to your comments. Please direct correspondence to Heather Harvey, Editor, NRC Nibbles.

The Nutrition Resource Group

The Nutrition Resource Group (NRG) acts as a forum for sharing provincial strategies, identifying needs, and connecting to our partners and stakeholders. Membership in the Nutrition Resource Group consists of representatives from key provincial organizations and programs in nutrition promotion.

French Language Advisory Network

The goal of the NRC French Language Advisory Network (FLAN) is to assist the NRC in working towards better supporting nutrition practitioners working with Francophone communities throughout Ontario through resource development, program implementation support and other NRC functions.

Last Updated: April 21, 2010

Working to strengthen the capacity of community nutrition practitioners across Ontario...Delivering quality nutrition programming in a health promotion context