Food Supply & Nutrition Program

Program Coordinator – Carol Wynne
P: 08 8971 9300 | E: carol.wynne@kwhb.com.au

Good nutrition across the lifespan is one of the key messages at KWHB.  Healthy behaviors can reduce the number of people with chronic diseases and illnesses related to poor nutrition.  It is important that KWHB reinforces nutrition messages and provides a supportive environment for staff, clients and guests to access healthy foods and drinks.

Nutrition is an important factor in the development of chronic disease.  Research shows that twice as many indigenous people living in remote areas suffer from chronic disease (including diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease) than indigenous people living in urban areas. 

Activities During 2010/2011

Food Security
Katherine West Health Board’s Nutrition Program focuses on the three pillars of food security:

• makingsure there is food available to be purchased/grown,
• makingsure the food is not too expensive and making sure that community membersknow how to use and
• preparefood that will be beneficial to their health.

The annual NT Market Basket Surveys are carried out yearly in all our stores to look at some of these issues and the results are used then to help advocate for improvements.

Several one-off activities have been carried out in 2010/2011 with nutrition and good tucker at the forefront of these events. Examples include AFL/nutrition workshops in Kalkarindgi and Timber Creek, Fish for Life at Timber Creek, Kalkarindgi and Bulla, Freedom Festival stall at Kalkarindgi, Yarralin Concert cooking, and nutrition education workshop in Katherine for all sport and recreation workers in our region. We are working with the NRG and Board to make nutrition a priority at these events and to continue to run awareness events and campaigns throughout 2011/2012.

Tucker Buddies Nutrition Program
This exciting and fun program was created with Bulla school children, KWHB’s NRG and is a Katherine West Health Board owned nutrition education program that helps nutrition education using a collaborative community approach with school, store and community by communicating the messages eating good tucker to prevent sicknesses. Rural Health Education Foundation from Canberra came to film the program in July 2011 with the school children at Bulla and made a video on it. We have some Tucker Buddies costumes to help promote the program in other schools in our region.

There is more work happening with Bulla and Amanbidgi School to work with community and parents to add a sustainable lunch component to the program. Further links with Catholic Care and Centrelink will help achieve this in 2011/2012.

Anaemia (weak blood) and Growth Faltering in children under 5 years
We have a lot of weak blood in children younger than 5 years old in all our communities and we have some kids that should be growing a bit better too. We are working with the NRG and community members to try and understand why and try and work together to make it better so that the kids grow up strong. In 2011/2012 we will be making a communication approach specific to each of our communities as not all of them are the same and there are different places we can do education/workshops/provide support in some e.g. Families as First Teachers in Kalk and Laj, Child Care facilities, schools, women’s groups, healthy lifestyle workers, clinics etc.

Nutrition Monitoring Program
It is important that the food that is provided in all the aged care, child care and school lunch programs is good tucker to keep the community strong and help stop sicknesses.

A monitoring Program was set up in November 2010 with Vic Daly Shire to help provide education to the workers for them to develop a menu that was appropriate for each of these facilities and so that we have a system in place to monitor or check the progress. In 2011/2012 further education and training will be provided and including community /family members in the sessions.

KWHB’s Nutrition and Catering Policy
This policy was endorsed by the Board in 2009 and we have implemented it and worked together on its effectiveness throughout 2010/2011. This policy is a very important policy for KWHB, we have a lot of diseases/sickness in our communities most of it could be prevented with good nutrition and hygiene. We should be good role models for our communities and this needs to be reflected in our Nutrition and Catering Policy. We will work closer with the Board, NRG and our clinic and in town staff in 2011 to review the policy to further strengthen it so that KWHB’s nutrition message stays strong and supported.