Educating for Children’s Health: Lessons Learned on Facilitating Media Literacy & Food Marketing Programming

Abstract

Food marketing is currently a multi-billion dollar industry. High levels of child-targeted food marketing, including on food packaging, suggests the need for media literacy skills to navigate persuasive techniques on food products. Evidence-based educational content on the topic of Media Literacy & Food Marketing (MLFM) was developed for children in Grades 3 to 9. This MLFM content has been taught to thousands of Canadian children across Canada, both in-person and virtually. This Practice Note highlights key strategies and lessons from implementing the program, and provides valuable insights into effective methods for empowering children’s critical thinking around food promotion.