STUDENTS at St Joseph’s Primary School in Coleraine were delighted on Wednesday to be named one of nine winners of the Vic Kids Eat Well (VKEW) Awards.

These awards acknowledge outstanding community organisations and individuals who boosted nutritious, tasty food and drink options to help kids learn and play.

The junior winners at St Joseph’s were celebrated as the Kids Champions, in the project where they designed their own ‘Kids Kitchen’ canteen and helped prepare and sell delicious and healthy food like veggie loaded baked potatoes.

They received local support from the Southern Grampians Healthy Kids Advisor, Monique Sobey from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.

Ms Sobey has worked closely with primary and secondary schools, HILAC, and sporting clubs in the region by helping to implement changes to food and drinking environments and working on healthy fundraising options.

“(The) majority of schools here don’t have canteens, the food comes from what people bring from home,” she said.

“Food education, and exposing children where food comes from, it is really important.”

At the start of 2023, Ms Sobey met with Year 6 students at St Joseph’s to discuss goals for implementing healthy and sustainable ideas for the school canteen.

“The students came to me with the idea to open up a small ‘Kids Kitchen’, where they planted lots of produce into the veggie garden and used them as ingredients to cook for their peers,” she said.

Ms Sobey also said it is the second year in a row that the Southern Grampians region has taken out the VKEW Kids Champion Award.

“It’s a really great achievement for a small school, to be recognised by the VKEW Awards,” she said.

“For a country, regional school, who doesn’t necessarily have the traditional canteen environment, it is really great that they can create a healthy food and drinking environment.”

Ms Sobey also said that schools in the region should feel inspired by St Joseph’s in taking up the VKEW program as an exciting and educative opportunity for students.

“We encourage schools and organisations to reach out if they are interested, we are here to help,” she said.

“We believe any small change in a food environment is a positive change.”

The south west also had two other VKEW finalists - Bolwarra Primary School and Heywood and District Secondary College.

Over 1000 organisations have now joined Vic Kids Eat Well reaching around 200,000 kids across the state.

This initiative is supported by the Victorian Government and delivered by Cancer Council Victoria, in partnership with Nutrition Australia.

Cancer Council Victoria chief executive, Todd Harper AM, said the VKEW Awards showcased the healthy and delicious changes happening for kids in canteens, lunch orders, at events and in fundraising across the state.

“It is wonderful to celebrate the second year of VKEW with our nine winners,” he said.

“Bite by bite, we’re creating a healthy start for Victorian kids along with the support of dedicated community health promotion teams.”

St Joseph’s Year 3/4 teacher, Emily Dwyer, said that the school has enjoyed the learning experience in implementing the VKEW Program, and expressed her gratitude to all who contributed.

“We are so proud of the students here at St Joseph’s and very grateful to the parents (Nicole Boxer, Rhianna Paton, Benita Lambert, Andrea Munro, Nicole Tindall and Kate Novikov) who supported the ‘Kids Kitchen’,” she said.

Ms Dwyer said that some of the highlights from the program included using fresh produce grown at school to make healthy treats for other students, raising money to support St. Vincents de Paul Society, and involving some of Coleraine’s Wannon Hostel residents by planting in the vegetable garden.

“The children here at school this year are keen to get it going again after seeing the efforts last Year 6’s went to,” she said.

“It was an honour to be chosen out of all the state-wide initiatives.

“We are such a small school, but hopefully, we have made a big impact on our community.”