The Health Promotion team at Gateway Health supports access to nutritious food and drinks.
- The Health Promotion team at Gateway Health offers free support for schools, Outside Schools Hours Care (OSHC) services and community settings in the Rural City of Wangaratta and City of Wodonga to implement the Vic Kids Eat Well (VKEW) program. The program is designed to boost tasty, nourishing food and drink options for kids to learn, play and be active. The Health Promotion team is currently supporting a number of local OSHC services and have developed a video as an example of what their support can involve, you can watch this below. While this video is about a veggie garden, this is just one aspect of a school or OSHC program that the team can support. There are other areas, too, including recipe ideas, involving students in food preferences, introducing and replacing menu items as well as communicating change with families. Here is a story about another local OSHC service the team is supporting in these ways. The VKEW program areas can be found here. The program offers rewards for each area completed. Get in touch with us via email if you’d like to become involved!
- Working with communities and settings to establish/maintain food access initiatives such as food swaps, food hubs, food growing gardens, local produce markets, community food pantries etc. This is done by assisting with grant applications/funding opportunities, community engagement, developing new partnerships and providing access to resources.
- Providing regular updates and information about local community food initiatives through groups such as the Wangaratta Community Food For All facebook page
- Partnering with organisations across the region to support a sustainable, resilient and equitable food system across North East Victoria. This is outlined in the North East Local Food Strategy
- Advocating for a healthy, regenerative and equitable food system in Victoria, check out the Victorian Food System Consensus Statement
Local resources
For information about local community food initiatives in your area including food swaps, community food pantries, community gardens, emergency food relief, community meals and farmers markets, click here:-
Wangaratta and surrounding areas
Albury Wodonga and surrounding areas
To learn about some of the amazing community food initiatives in the north-east region (including Mount Beauty Neighbourhood House, Sustainable King Valley Food Co-op, Dumu Café/Bright Food Co-op and Albury Wodonga Volunteer Resource Bureau’s Multicultural Cooking Program) have a look at the video’s below and here https://acresandacres.com.au/
Need inspiration to grow your own food? Imagine if all you needed to do to put a meal together was walk out your back door? Fresh tasty vegetables, vibrant herbs, and sweet fruits much closer than the supermarket. Growing your own food doesn’t need to be daunting and time consuming. Even growing a few things will make a significant difference. Let us (pardon the pun!) inspire you in this fun 15-minute film, from the local ‘Parsley Collective’ …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MwfRtWGKyw
Other useful resources
- Being size inclusive – https://bhn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Final-Online-Version_Size-Inclusive-Resource-1.pdf
- Cook Well Eat Well – https://www.cookwelleatwell.org.au/
- Tucker Talk Tip sheets https://www.vaccho.org.au/member-services/workforce-development-2/nutrition/
- Healthy Eating Advisory Service – https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/
- Food Bank tips to reduce food waste https://www.foodbank.org.au/reduce-food-waste/?state=nsw-act
Contact the Health Promotion Team
If you are interested in any of these initiatives or would like further information please email HealthPromotion.Team@gatewayhealth.org.au