Working alongside the existing health promotion workforce, new Healthy Kids Advisors will aim to transform food and drink options in the places where children and families gather — from outside-school-hours care to sports clubs, council facilities and more.
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation (SAKGF) is delighted to be leading this community-focused initiative on behalf of the Victorian Government as part of the Healthy kids, healthy futures action plan.
Healthy Kids Advisors will leverage SAKGF’s pleasurable food education model, expanding and strengthening the Foundation’s vision to see children form positive food habits for life. The Advisors will champion place-based change in a fun, delicious way, harnessing the power of community to ensure kids have access to the healthy food and drink options they need to learn, play, grow and thrive.
Through 20 years of delivering the Kitchen Garden Program, the SAKGF is experienced in responding to the needs of families and the settings where they spend their time. Each step of the way the Advisors will engage with stakeholders, advocates, parents and carers, children and young people to learn from them and listen to the local changes that communities want to see most.
Through hands-on support, Advisors will consult and guide organisations through simple, achievable steps to meet the healthy eating goals unique to each community. Advisors will connect organisations to existing local healthy eating efforts, with a focus on supporting the organisation to participate in the state-wide Vic Kids Eat Well movement being led by Cancer Council Victoria in partnership with Nutrition Australia.
The Healthy Kids Advisors initiative is part of a comprehensive effort and will reinforce the place-based effort by being located in 13 of the VicHealth Local Government Partnership (VLGP) Fast-Track Council areas. Multiple community partners will be working to improve the health and wellbeing of young people and address inequities in health outcomes in these local government areas.
Healthy Kids Advisors is a three-year initiative supported by the Victorian Government and the Australian Government.
To collaborate with a Healthy Kids Advisor in your region, send an email or learn more about the Healthy Kids Advisors initiative on the website.
If you want to sign up as part of the Vic Kids Eat Well movement, find out more here.