Guidelines:

1. Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth: These guidelines will assist Albertans in creating environments that provide and promote healthy food choices and instilling healthy attitudes about food in children and youth.
2. Alberta Health Services: Healthy Vending Toolkit: This tool-kit guides you through a step-by-step process to take action on healthy vending in your school, recreation centre, or workplace. There are evidence-based strategies and tools to create a successful healthy vending program.
3. Alberta Health Services: Sports Nutrition for Youth -  A handbook for Coaches. This handbook is in place to help school and community coaches to support youth athletes and their parents in making informed choices around good nutrition and hydration for sports performance.
4. The Stay Active Eat Healthy® program is an evidence-based capacity building initiative developed in BC that aims to increase the provision of healthy food and beverages while restricting unhealthy options in municipal and community recreation facilities.

Policy:

1. University of Alberta School of Public Health Policy Readiness Tool: The Policy Readiness Tool was created to increase local capacity for healthy policy change. It is designed for use by individuals, organizations and municipalities interested in creating healthier communities.
2. Pathways to Change: Six Theories about How Policy Change Happens: Sharon Stochowiak outlines six common theories or pathways for policy change – summarizing some underlying assumptions; typical activities and outcomes; and, some tips on practical applications for each theory.
3. Alberta Health Services Healthy School Fundraising: This handout provides steps to help community groups create a healthy fundraising policy. It includes tips for successful fundraising and a variety of healthy fundraising ideas. Originally designed for schools, the ideas in this handout are also helpful for recreation and community centres. Check out Steps to Create a Healthy Fundraising Policy on page 1.
4. The Stay Active Eat Healthy® program is an evidence-based capacity building initiative developed in BC that aims to increase the provision of healthy food and beverages while restricting unhealthy options in municipal and community recreation facilities.
5. City of St. Albert Sample Invitation to Tender: Check out this document for some ideas on language to use when writing a request for proposal from a food vendor to provide healthier options.

Research:

1. Improving children’s nutrition environments: A survey of adoption and implementation of nutrition guidelines in recreational facilities, 2011. Dana Lee Olstad, Shauna M Downs, Kim D Raine, Tanya R Berry and Linda J McCargar.
2. Implementing the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth in a Recreation Facility, 2011. Dana Lee Olstad, Jessica R.L. Lieffers, Kim D Raine and Linda J McCargar.
3. Adopting and implementing nutrition guidelines in recreation facilities: tensions between public health and corporate profitability, 2012. Dana Lee Olstad, Kim D Raine and Linda J McCargar.
4. Choosing healthier foods in recreational sport settings: a mixed methods investigation of the impact of nudging and an economic incentive, 2014. Dana Lee Olstad, Laksiri A Goonewardene, Linda J McCargar and Kim D Raine.
5. Profit Versus Public Health: The Need to Improve the Food Environment in Recreation Facilities, 2013. Dana Lee Olstad and Kim D. Raine. (link to PDF)
6. Research of this section
7. For a summary of some of the findings from Olstad’s research, browse these friendly handouts:
   
   • "Profit and Public Health in Recreation Facilities”
   • “Improving the Food Environment in Recreation Facilities”
   • “Supporting Healthy Eating in Recreational Facilities” 
   • "Nudging Healthier Food Choices"