Fresh Tastes @ School

Fresh Tastes @ School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy outlines the type and frequency of food and drink permitted for sale through canteens in NSW government schools. It also supports the Nutrition in Schools Policy, which identifies that any school program or activity relating to or involving food and drink should promote healthy eating and good nutrition to students.

However, these guidelines are not black and white and determining what’s allowed and what’s not can be complicated. Healthy Kids Association is here to help you wade your way through the guidelines so you can make the healthiest choices for your canteen menu.

Where to start?

The best place to read about Fresh Tastes @ School is in the Canteen Menu Planning Guide published by NSW Health. Here you’ll learn about the Canteen Menu Planner that is used to place foods in a colour spectrum (see below). The spectrum goes from GREEN to AMBER to RED. GREEN foods are the healthiest and should make up the majority of your menu. You can include AMBER foods on your menu, but select them carefully and watch portion size. As for RED foods, Fresh Tastes in NSW only allows them to be served twice per term. They are not allowed to feature as regular menu items.

Canteen Menu Planner

 

Choosing foods that fit Fresh Tastes @ School

There are so many food products on the market, that choosing items for your menu that fit within the Fresh Tastes @ School policy can be complicated. The “Occasional Food” criteria has been created to help you determine whether some foods are AMBER or RED. For this you will need to read the food label and compare it to the figures in the table.

Planning your menu

If you need help planning your menu to ensure it fits the policy you may want to start by looking at some sample menus – these examples show how important it is for GREEN foods to dominate the menu, with AMBER food appearing less frequently and RED foods not at all.

Once you’re committed to GREENing up your menu, you may need some snack ideas to replace some of the RED snacks you’re not permitted to sell according to the Fresh Tastes @ School policy. We have many ideas on our website (check out the canteen recipe section) and be sure to like our Facebook page where we’re constantly sharing ideas with our canteen member audience.

Need further help? Contact us.