Buns in the Oven, Ottawa, Ontario

If you're young and pregnant in Ottawa, feel overwhelmed and lonely and aren't always able to eat nutritiously, then one place to go is Buns in the Oven. This program offers food, peer support, prenatal and parenting education. It is sponsored by a coalition of four Ottawa agencies called The Young/Single Parents Support Network: Bethany Hope Centre, Youville Centre, St. Mary's Home and Emily Murphy nonprofit housing.

Buns in the Oven does not take place in just one location. There are seven sites where young pregnant women register for a program where they can learn to cook, eat healthy meals, develop life skills, seek nutrition counselling and access breastfeeding support. The program also offers an opportunity to connect with peers. To make it easier for parents to be able to attend group sessions, bus tickets and child care are available at most of the sites.

Cathy Fortier, Program Coordinator, has been working with young single parents for almost nine years. She oversees the implementation of weekly prenatal nutrition programs within the Ottawa community. She is trained as a public health nurse and three years ago, she began working with Buns in the Oven, an initiative funded by Health Canada's Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP). She coordinates two of the sites, Sandy Hill and Bethany Hope Centre. Some of the other sites are located in the Somerset West Community Health Centre, Carlington Community and Health Services and Vanier Community Service Centre.

At both of the sites where she contributes service directly, Mrs. Fortier is assisted by one or more other people, who can include program assistants, child care workers and public health nurses. She coordinates the CPNP activities at the other sites where the staff are offered in-kind or funded by one of the many community partners.
Food is a focal point of this program. Healthy snacks like carrot sticks are mixed with fun and nutritious foods like pizza and banana bread, all of which the participants make themselves under the supervision of "Buns" staff.

"What makes them (participants) come is the food; what makes them stay is the social support," says Mrs. Fortier. She runs one Buns in the Oven program at the Bethany Hope Centre on Tuesday evenings. Any older children are cared for by an early childhood educator and volunteer. Two or three other young women who are trained as Program Assistants help with cooking, cleanup and parent support. Fifteen to twenty young women attend this program each week.

Another program is held on Wednesday afternoons at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre. About ten young parents take part regularly in this program, which is customized to recruit and serve street youth.

Teaming with all kinds of community resources, both locations are ideal places for the program. There are cooking facilities and large tables in spacious rooms. Easy access to a public health nurse for well-baby appointments is an integral part of both programs.

Buns in the Oven has developed a partnership with a large local grocery chain and a dairy company to provide milk coupons to each participant who attends the program. These coupons are exchanged for four litres of milk per week at any of the chain's stores. This enables expectant moms to get some of the nutrients they need. In addition to the coupons, each mom leaves the project with a bag of fresh fruits and vegetables each week.

Cheryl, who attends with her baby girl, says the food and milk help her to eat better than she could without the support.

Breastfeeding information and support are an essential component of Buns in the Oven. Fortier says peer support is crucial for young women, who may not know much about infant feeding options or who may feel daunted or embarrassed by the prospect of breastfeeding.

"If I hadn't come to the group and heard someone speak about breastfeeding I would never have breastfed," said one mom. She is now a role model for the rest of the group, Mrs. Fortier says.

Some of the moms breastfeed at group meetings, which provides a concrete and positive example for pregnant moms who haven't yet made their decision.

The program's effects are already visible. Participants arrive seeking help and later find themselves in a position to provide it.

"I used to come to this program, and now I work here," says one of the young women supervising the pizza making. "My son is in childcare upstairs while I work. He's two."

The profile of Buns in the Oven has been raised through word of mouth. Local media covered their four year reunion held recently. Many of the moms have come to the project on the recommendation of a former or current participant. The project's increased profile has helped create partnerships within the community. Partnerships have been established with community health centres where the centre provides the staffing and the space as well as resource money for the program to take place. Through its funding Buns in the Oven provides those sites with extra funds to be used towards food, transportation and childcare. "Buns" also provides an annual supply of milk coupons to each site.

Friendship, good social relations and strong supportive networks improve health including pregnancy outcomes. Buns in the Oven is a comprehensive nutrition program that acknowledges these and other broad health determinants.

Sometimes the graduates of the program find ways to continue learning on their own.

"One of our past participants says she and some of the others have continued meeting on their own; they make a meal and do craft activities together. It shows the success of the model of (providing) food and social/peer support," says Mrs. Fortier.

It also shows the unique talents that Mrs. Fortier possesses. A program may be wonderful, but these women will not attend unless the person who's facilitating the program is very sensitive to the needs of these young people and very skilled at working with them -- as Mrs. Fortier has proven to be.

She is constantly reminded of the effort these young women are prepared to put into being good parents. She says it's challenging at times but that she loves the work.