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"When I started at Murrumbeena PS in January 2006, they had
a very typical standard menu. The School Council was keen
to change this to a much healthier menu, and so was I. I wanted
to achieve a menu that was high in nutrition and low in junk
food - a menu that I would want for my own children and that
would also appeal to the children in a fun way.
"So a whole new style of menu was developed in consultation
with the School Council, as well as renaming the Canteen to
appeal to the kids. I included the whole school in the project
and asked for lots of ideas that the kids themselves would
like to see on the menu. The whole school became involved
in learning about nutrition and some of my best menu items
came from the input of the children themselves. I am still
amazed at how keen the children are to know about what is
healthy and why.
"With the introduction of a weekly newsletter column,
I am able to introduce new fun ideas, teach the wider school
community about nutrition and food, and also include a roster
for the coming week's volunteers.
"As I found out the hard way, it is not easy for a primary
school to be able to offer lots of fresh healthy foods purely
from a labour point of view. But with the help of a dedicated
School Council and with the backing and support from an excellent
pool of volunteers, we hurdled that difficulty and now I have
a smooth running Murrumbeena Kids Cafe!
"I get constant feedback from the school, staff, parents
and children on the positive input I have through the Canteen.
"Here's to happy, healthy, energised children!"
- Robyn Dunne, Business Manager in conjunction with Kerry
Herschell, Canteen Manager
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