Orange Public School is making it easy for students to make healthy choices at its canteen with the most popular item being ice-blocks made from 99 per cent fruit juice.
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The school's canteen recently became an official Healthy School Canteen, which meant it met the NSW Food and Drink Criteria due to the number and variety of fresh and healthy food choices on its menu.
The menu includes fresh salads and wraps, veggie sticks and dip as well as hot food options.
Orange Public School volunteer canteen co-ordinator Sarah Jeffery said the students responded positively to the healthy food options, which were introduced with help from Western NSW Local Health District health promotion officer Sarah McKay.
"We introduced healthy snacks and product swaps by incorporating trials so the change was subtle and we encouraged feedback," Mrs Jeffery said.
“The final step involved an independent canteen menu check, which confirms the canteen meets the Food and Drink Criteria and has successfully become a Healthy School Canteen."
Mrs Jeffery said to qualify 75 per cent of food on the menu had to be classified as healthy food that could be eaten every day while 25 per cent could be classified as occasional food.
"We've got 90 per cent every day and 10 per cent occasional," she said.
"I prefer to have a small menu to get this rather than a large menu to increase the percentage."
Additionally, no occasional food, which at the Orange canteen includes a pie, a homemade chicken tender, popcorn and frozen yoghurt can be promoted on the school's Facebook page or in meal deals.
The pop corn was classed as occasional due to its salt content and the frozen yoghurt for its sugar content.
"They are not junkfood any parent who sends their kid to the canteen knows [the food] is not full of sugar, salts or fat."
Mrs Jeffery said the canteen is not losing profits and now there's a greater range of pricing available and more parents can feel comfortable giving money to their children to take to the canteen.
"Before we introduced the carrot sticks, which was only 18 months ago there was nothing under 50 cents. Now we've got items from 20 cents," she said.
All NSW public school canteens are expected to meet criteria by December.
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Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
