Our Projects (HNAF)

Eat Right Ontario | Preventative

To help provide support for making smaller scale recipes Eat Right Ontario combined its nutrition expertise with FIRSt and culinary students. Together the team co-created ten simple, nutritious recipes for targeted patients, which save time while reducing food waste.

Hospital for Sick Children | Therapeutic

FIRSt conducted detailed research to develop, test and evaluate 10 recipes and menu plans for  families with children who require a ketogenic diet as a medical therapy for the treatment of Drug Resistant Epilepsy at home, using medium chain triglycerides (MCT) to balance fat and nutrients.

Baycrest Health Services | Preventative

For five years, Baycrest has partnered with  the George Brown on an inter-professional learning activity where students and clinicians create nutritious and safe to swallow meals for adults with swallowing disorders (dysphagia). The FIRSt research team worked with Baycrest to test final recipes for nutrition, reproducibility and standardization, ensuring correct labeling and terminology for its texture.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto | Management

The Ronald McDonald House in Toronto provides a range of support programs to meet the practical and emotional needs of families. FIRSt, along with George Brown students and faculty, co-created a six-week course of interactive cooking classes, and researched and developed twelve age-appropriate recipes for the RMHC Toronto Caring Cooks program.

Hospice Niagara | Management

Hospice Niagara exists to improve the quality of life for people living with life-limiting illness, dying, grief and loss. Working with FIRSt, the Creative Caregivers project will create twelve home use recipes that aim to help enhance the quality of life, provide adequate nutrition and provide a sense of control for both the patients and their caregivers.

Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation/University Health Network (ELLICSR) | Management

The Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and its ELLICSR Kitchen team collaborated with staff and students from FIRSt to create Cooking for Vitality, a study designed to determine if a cooking & nutrition intervention can help cancer survivors better manage their  cancer-related fatigue.

Guelph Family Health Study | Preventative

Consistent with numbers across Canada, children in this study under-consumed dietary fibre, fruits, vegetables, dairy and omega-3 fats, but over-consumed sweet and salty snacks. Working with FIRSt, the project aims to revolutionize snacking by developing twenty snack recipes that address these dietary concerns.

Metabolic Syndrome Canada | Therapeutic

Researchers from Metabolic Syndrome Canada  and the University of Guelph are collaborating with FIRSt to develop innovative materials for their CHANGE Program nutrition toolkit known as NU-CHANGE. The goal of the project is to enhance the learning of participants and registered dietitians working to combat Metabolic Syndrome.

Colorectal Cancer Canada | Preventative

Colorectal Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Canada. The disease is 90% preventable if caught early through screening. Many research studies have shown the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, particularly with the inclusion of healthy eating such as a plant-based diet and inclusion of an exercise program, will help prevent this disease.

Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation/University Health Network (ELLICSR) | Management

Pelvic radiotherapy is an important component in the treatment of both cervical and endometrial cancers. Survivors of both cancers may experience different severity of gastrointestinal (GI) irregularities.

The Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and its ELLICSR Kitchen team has initiated the EDIBLE program to fulfill a gap in the establishment of guidelines for nutritional management of GI side effects.