Healthy lunch for youngsters
Last week, Warragul Primary School (WPS) launched its “Healthy children’s lunch program” – a scheme where students will not only receive regular, healthy lunches from the school at no cost but will also learn about the origins of different foods, its nutritional value as well as its preparation.
Under the program, parents and teachers will work with different children from the school once a week to plant and pick vegetables, choose menus, source shopping lists, and ultimately prepare the meals for their fellow students.
The lunch recipes will focus on nutrition, value for money and ease of preparation. It is hoped that the skills children learn in classes will allow them to be repeated at home.
Following preparation, participating students will sit together to enjoy their dishes, learn more about the nutritional value of the foods and hopefully enjoy conversations around the table.
Parents from the school approached West Gippsland Health Group (WGHG) in 2018 expressing concerns about the nutrition some students were receiving on a regular school day. The program was developed between WPS and WGHG with a view to educating children on the benefits of fresh, unprocessed food over other unhealthier choices.
Parents and teachers will work with students to teach them about healthy eating habits and help them gain a better understanding of where their food comes from.
Students will also hopefully be taught that home prepared meals do not need to be expensive or complicated.
Irena Otrubova is one of the parents at WPS taking the lead on the project and she said it was great to see children learning about the whole cycle of nutrition – from the planting of crops all the way to the cooking of foods.
“It’s lovely to be able to show kids how something coming straight from the ground can easily be made into something tasty as well as healthy,” Irena said.
Parents like Irena and the school board are passionate about the project and through their hard work and determination working with the WGHG the school was able to secure a grant via the Gippsland Primary Health Network to help fund the project.
PHN Gippsland is funded by the Federal Government and exists to provide for identified areas of need in the area of health. Data from the 2014 Victorian Health Survey showed that Baw Baw and Gippsland generally performs poorly in terms of healthy compared to the rest of the state.
Other sources of funding include donations from local food sellers where WPS student’s parents are employed. Students will also sell healthy lunchbox items they have cooked at the Warragul Farmer’s Market. Children will also have to opportunity to donate a gold coin on the days of the lunches.