When there was an abundance of spinach in the kitchen garden, green eggs and ham and Shrek-themed foods were on the menu in Mount Rowan Secondary College's canteen.
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These are the types of food swaps that make Ballarat Community Health duo Alexandra Bell and Tameaka Lakey smile.
The pair has been working behind the scenes in helping adapt the Vic Kids Eat Well program for Ballarat needs - efforts that have captured statewide recognition.
They say there can be a fine juggle in making food swaps in canteens to help try and shift food culture in schools, given canteens are predominantly businesses wanting to make a profit.
A couple of successes, particularly working in partnership with Mount Rowan and Ballarat Grammar, has created a momentum in other schools and out of school hours programs wanting to make changes too.
"Kids are spending hours in the one setting, every day at school, and we want to better fuel their learning and fuel energy for doing fun stuff," Ms Bell said. "We want it to be fun, fresh and we want kids to be eating yummy foods."
Cancer Council Victoria chief executive officer Todd Harper said providing healthy foods not only affects children's physical health but also their mood, mental health and academic success.
Programs are focusing on making "bite size" changes.
For Mount Rowan, key changes in the canteen helped to better link up the school's Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden produce for students to see and taste what can be possible. This could even be extra fruit in muffins.
At Grammar, about 90 per cent of canteen meals now contain vegetables. Students had a strong say in their dietary needs and preferences, such as options for gluten-free to dairy-free and nutritious snacks for students with before or after school sports training.
Ms Bell said flavoured and sparkling waters had been unexpectedly popular.
They have also been working to help schools from an equity perspective.
An early iteration of the program with Linton Primary School had highlighted barriers to access fresh fruit and vegetables in the community.
Making clear changes were not about being "lunchbox police", the focus has been on educating children on healthier choices and canteen options which in turn promoted greater talk about food education and cooking at home.
Out of school care programs working with Ballarat Community Health have also increasingly been sharing menus and snacks on social media and parent apps. Ms Bell said one great example was a Mexican food day with children creating tacos using fresh food like they could do at home.
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For other centres, changes might be in support to change-up traditional fundraising channels for example, linking up a school with a community nursery to have a tomato seedling drive.
"That love local movement from the pandemic is still strong and we want to tap into that," Ms Lakey said. "A primary school might have previously outsourced for produce but there is a really strong driver to go local."
Ms Bell and Ms Lakey have been recognised with a Vic Kids Eat Well Award as health promoter champions in an accolade sponsored by the Victorian government and Cancer Council Victoria, in partnership with Nutrition Australia.
The pair works with 14 community organisations and mentors other health promoters in the region, such as in Beaufort or Hesse (near Shelford), in sharing successes and challenges.
They have plenty of plans to keep evolving the program, now in its third year, such as linking in school breakfast clubs. Ms Bell and Ms Lakey said it would all depend on schools' needs.
They feel one marker of success is when staff start to appear more in the school canteen at lunchtime, instead of ducking off to nearby shops.
