Canteen meals at school used to be a once-a-week treat but when staff at the Mount Rowan Secondary College canteen recognised some students were buying lunch there ever day they realised they needed a healthy overhaul of their menu.
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Gone are dim sims, soft drinks and other unhealthy menu items, replaced with baked potatoes, fried rice, bolognese, frittata and free tastes of new meals to encourage students to try something new.
Despite some initial backlash against the loss of some favourite foods, canteen manager Chloe Hewitt says most students now enjoy the healthier menu.
That overhaul of the canteen has led to the school winning the Big Bite award as part of the state-wide Vic Kids Eat Well movement, and Ms Hewitt and Jody Burgess being named 'community champions'.
Ms Hewitt said it had been a step by step process to gradually improve the food in the canteen to increase the fruit, vegetables and wholegrains.
"There was backlash from the kids but we've tried to put exciting things for our food specials - baked potatoes, bolognese, fried rice, home-made pizza ... and we don't get any complaints now," she said.
Canteen staff boost veggies in meals, using in-season produce like cos lettuce, spinach, tomato, carrot, cucumber and beetroot. Frozen corn, peas and capsicum are staples in many of the meals.
The most complaints came when soft drink was dropped.
"We said to the kids, you can drink soft drink when you're not at school. We have a duty of care, and there are people above us who tell us to do things. We have a duty of care to look after you guys, and you will thank us in the future."
The canteen is also introducing students to meals they might not have tried before, while at the same time keeping the menu simple enough that students can cook at home.
"The canteen used to be for students like a once a week thing now a lot of kids are eating there every day. We are doing vegetable soup and handing it out for free, because it's about food education. Kids are scared of some of the food, but if you give them a taste they are surprised.
"They don't know what minestrone is, and they won't waste their money on something they don't know, but if they are familiar with it and like it, they will buy it and it's become normal for them the way we do it."
Ms Hewitt said the change had been a whole school approach, with the breakfast club also adopting healthier options and teachers ordering from the canteen to model healthy eating.
"Now I see students who were eating unhealthy who are now eating a chicken roll with lettuce, tomato, carrots - there's so much more nutritional value in it.
"What we are cooking, they can cook at home. We are time poor so it's not a luxurious meal, we are not cooking amazing gourmet things, its meals that students would be able to cook at home."
Mount Rowan Secondary College was the first school in the Ballarat area to complete both small and big bites as part of the Vic Kids Eat Well movement.
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Mount Rowan Secondary College principal Seona Murnane said the canteen overhaul, in conjunction with Ballarat Community Health and Vic Kids Eat Well, had reinvigorated food choices.
"The food is more tasty and more healthy ... but we are also making sure students understand what healthy food is and that it tastes good."
There are still occasional treats on the menu, but they come with messaging around having those foods in moderation.
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