Local Champion Award: Jodie Couch
This year a new award category was introduced: The Local Champion Award. This award recognises and celebrates the important people on the ground who make implementing the Policy directive possible.
We recognise all 17 nominees across the state who were nominated for their excellent work championing the Policy directive locally.
“It’s truly excellent to see so much good work and hear the stories behind the 100% statistic across the state. It was so difficult to pick a winner amongst the nominations.”
– Jing Zheng, Nutrition Policy Advisor at Healthy Eating Advisory Service
This year, the Department of Health and Healthy Eating Advisory Service proudly presented the Local Champion Award to Jodie Couch in recognition of their outstanding commitment and impact.
Supporting the Healthy Choices policy in Health Services
As the Hotel Services Supervisor at the Timboon and District Health Service, Jodie has made an exceptional contribution to the Healthy choices: policy directive in 2025. Through their thoughtful, consumer‑focused approach, Jodie worked closely with health service consumers and those relying on external catering to ensure that food and drink options genuinely reflected people’s needs and preferences.
By prioritising relationships and wellbeing, Jodie has helped create healthier and more consistent food options across services and events.
“Being a small rural [health service] it’s a really important aspect of what we offer here both for our residents and our acute community…we’re very proud and our whole community is as well”
– Larissa Barclay, Acting CEO at Timboon and District Health Services
Key achievements
Jodie has helped the Timboon and District Health Service meet the Healthy choices: policy directive in 2025 by:
- Creating a Healthy choices: policy directive–compliant menu, vending machine, or catering policy
- Demonstrating excellence in completing or supporting FoodChecker assessments
- Showing excellent leadership
- Having a strong understanding of which nutritious food and drinks are well received by customers
- Actively promoting nutritious food and drinks
“This consumer focused, collaborative and relationship focused approach has helped them to meet not only meet the targets but also have a healthier food offering at the health service.”
– Jing Zheng, Nutrition Policy Advisor at Healthy Eating Advisory Service
Thank you
Thank you to all the nominees for their dedication to creating healthier food environments across Victoria. Your efforts make a real difference in your communities. Congratulations to Jodie Couch on being recognised as this year’s Local Champion, an award truly deserved.
Relevant case studies
- Early childhood services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Workplaces & Tertiary education
- Food industry
- +2
- Workplaces & Tertiary education
- Food industry
- +2
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Early childhood services
- Promoting healthy eating
- +1
- Early childhood services
- Promoting healthy eating
- +1
- Early childhood services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Early childhood services
- OSHC
- +2
- Early childhood services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Early childhood services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- OSHC
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- OSHC
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Early childhood services
- OSHC
- +2
- Schools
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Schools
- Promoting healthy eating
- +1
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Schools
- Promoting healthy eating
- +1
- Schools
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Sport & recreation
- Maintaining sales
- +1
- Health services
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Early childhood services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +2
- Health services
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Health services
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Food industry
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
- Sport & recreation
- Implementing healthy changes
- +1
Want to assess your menu?
The Healthy Eating Advisory Service acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate. We pay our respects to them, their culture and their Elders past and present.
The Healthy Eating Advisory Service is delivered by experienced nutritionists and dietitians at National Nutrition Foundation, with support from the Victorian Government.
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