Healthy eating curriculum ideas
Looking for new ways to teach healthy eating in your classroom?
Here’s a collection of engaging teaching resources and reliable health websites to develop students’ knowledge and skills around food and nutrition, in line with the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum, Foundation – Year 10.
Topics include classroom resources, programs, CALD resources, healthy lunchbox ideas and reliable health sites.
Classroom resources
Primary school resources and activities
Nutrition Australia ACT Division
Nutrition Australia ACT has developed these nutrition-focussed education resources to support schools
Has four nutrition education units, linked to the Australian Curriculum, and aligned with the Australia Dietary Guidelines for K- year 6. Teachers can download for free, once they have registered.
A fresh approach to food literacy and nutrition education, including videos and resources, designed to slip more serves of vegetables into every classroom.
Combining the history of cuisine and agriculture with lessons about art, maths, psychology and science, the classes are designed to be integrated into existing lessons for Years 3-6.
A teacher can search by Australian Curriculum code, subject and theme
Taste & Learn™ is an evidence-based program for Australian primary schools that supports student learning and fosters enjoyment of vegetables to positively impact children’s health and wellbeing.
Aligned to the Australian curriculum, with three units that span Foundation to Year 6.
Foundation to Year 10 resources and activities
Provides a list of teaching resources to promote healthy eating in the classroom and canteen. For healthy eating and living lesson plan ideas and resources that complement the Victorian curriculum, especially Unit 1- Food and Nutrition.
Superhero Foods is an online resource providing teachers and health educators with access to a host of highly engaging nutrition education resources including:
- Free downloadable lesson plans and resources linked to the Australian Curriculum for all ages (Foundation to Year 10).
- A number of nutrition resources available for download or purchase including recipe booklets, placemats, game/collector cards, storybook, colouring-in pages and clipart.
Edith Cowen University
Refresh.ED is a website that contains food and nutrition resources for years F-10, based on the Western Australian and Australian Curriculums.
This website has curriculum activities ready for teachers to use with students. Along with the teaching units there are webinars, recipes, games and videos.
Nutrition Australia ACT’s IYM Food & Me
- Nutrition Australia ACT have developed these nutrition-focused education resources to support schools.
- Four nutrition education modules, linked to the Australian Curriculum, and aligned with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Years 7-8.
- Teachers can download for free, once they have registered.
The Student Wellbeing Hub provides information and resources for students, teachers and parents to assist them to create and maintain a safe and welcoming school environment. This website has key information and classroom resources (aligned with the Australian Curriculum) ready for teachers to use with students. The resources are broken up based on Primary and Secondary groups. The ‘Healthy Minds and Bodies’ wellbeing topic is where healthy eating activities can be found.
Programs
Healthy Eating Advisory Service
Nutrition Australia Vic
The Healthy Eating Advisory Service is a free service that is funded by the Victorian Government to support schools to provide healthier foods and drinks in line with the Victorian Government’s School Canteens and Other School Food Services Policy. They provide a telephone and email advice line, online menu assessments with FoodChecker, training on the School Canteens and Other School Food Services Policy, and more.
Cancer Council Victoria and Nutrition Australia Vic
Vic Kids Eat Well supports schools, outside school hours care, sports clubs, and a wide range of community organisations to offer healthier food and drink options. The focus is on simple changes and healthy swaps that make a big impact.
Join as an individual organisation or create a local network and you will receive dedicated support, resources and rewards.
Cancer Council WA
The Crunch&Sip program is an easy way to help kids stay healthy and happy! Crunch&Sip is a set time during the school day to eat vegetables and fruit and drink water in the classroom.
The Crunch and Sip website contains helpful hints and tips for teachers which can help improve student’s focus, fruit and vegetable intake and general food knowledge.
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation provides the inspiration, information, professional learning and support for educational institutions to deliver pleasurable food education, in conjunction with educators, partners and the wider community.
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden website contains information for teachers on how to implement the program into schools. If your school is not a part of the program they also have some freely accessible resources such recipes and garden activity ideas.
There are also ideas for teachers to implement in the classroom that promote both fruit and vegetable consumption and overall positive relationships with food.
The Healthy Schools Achievement Program
Cancer Council Victoria
The Achievement Program gives you a simple, evidence-based framework to support the health and wellbeing of everyone in your school. Help students develop to their full potential and boost staff productivity. At any age ─ healthy people perform better.
Foodbank’s School Breakfast Program
Foodbank
The School Breakfast Program aims to deliver a wholesome, nutritious breakfast to students every day. There are also resources such as case studies and books that can be found on the website to showcase the benefits that using this program can create.
Foodbank
This is a nutrition education initiative that aims to improve knowledge, attitude and skills around healthy foods, involving topics such as:
- Healthy eating
- Food budgeting
- Food preparation
- Cooking skills (including recipes).
FEAST (Food Education and Sustainability Training)
OzHarvest
FEAST is a curriculum aligned education program, inspiring primary school kids to create recipes, eat healthy, waste less and become change-makers in their local community.
FEAST is available as classroom-based program or as an online course.
Online learning resources and lessons can be uploaded to the teacher’s preferred online learning platform or shared with students via the FEAST portal. Online training for teachers is also available.
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) resources
These resources are particularly designed to assist students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
For culturally sensitive information on health and chronic disease, recipes, and fruit and vegetable ideas for Aboriginal peoples.
For details on healthy drinking/eating, school lunchboxes and different food/cultural profiles, this website can provide information in many different languages.
Reliable health sites
The following sites provide reliable evidence-based information that you can use with your students for projects that require research on chronic disease, healthy eating, and other food related issues.
Healthy eating guidelines and resources
- Australian Dietary Guidelines
You can print or order posters of the Australia Guide to Healthy Eating. - Indigenous Guide to Healthy Eating (PDF)
- FoodChecker, to assess canteen menu and catering items
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for food labelling information
- Veggycation is a website that contains an abundance of information on the benefits of eating vegetables.
Trusted health sites
- Better Health Channel
- Live Lighter
- Heart Foundation
- Diabetes Victoria
- Cancer Council Victoria
- Nutrition Australia
Interactive sites for children on healthy eating
- Fresh for Kids is a fun and interactive site to promote fruit and veg. Visit the ‘kid’s corner’ for games, activities, competitions; and more.
For more information please phone 1300 22 52 88 or email heas@nutritionaustralia.org.au
Except where otherwise indicated, the images in this document show models and illustrative settings only, and do not necessarily depict actual services, facilities or recipients of services. This document may contain images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this document, ‘Aboriginal’ refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ‘Indigenous’ or ‘Koori/Koorie’ is retained when part of the title of a report, program or quotation. Copyright © State of Victoria 2016
Written and reviewed by dietitians and nutritionists at Nutrition Australia, with support from the Victorian Government.
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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 Nutrition Australia Vic Division, with support from the Victorian Government.
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