The Chef in Schools Plus Program aims to transform secondary school lunches by enhancing their nutritional quality, appearance and taste. Drawing inspiration from successful initiatives in the US and UK, we are piloting this program in Australia to explore how collaboration between qualified, professional chefs, canteen managers and students can lead to healthier and more appealing school meals.
Why it matters
Healthy diets boost students’ academic performance, mental health and physical wellbeing.
Healthy diets support academic achievement. Adequate vegetable consumption is crucial for children’s growth, development and long-term health, and vegetable intake during adolescence is linked to improved cognitive performance. Yet, in 2022, only 3.5% of Australian adolescents met the Australian Dietary Guidelines target for vegetable intake (5.5 daily serves for girls and 6 for boys). Around 40% consumed one serve or fewer each day, with vegetable consumption lowest in low socioeconomic areas.
How it works
Co-design
A qualified chef works with the school canteen manager and students to co-design tasty, vegetable-rich menu items. They will also co-design a promotion campaign for the new vegetable items.
Launch and testing
The chef upskills and supports the canteen team to roll out the new items. The research team will then analyse sales data and conduct surveys, interviews and a smartphone image-based dietary assessment to determine the feasibility of the program.
Potential impact
All school students deserve access to nutritious and tasty food made from locally grown, seasonal produce while they are at school. Schools need a range of effective and practical options to make this happen. The results from this pilot study will provide important evidence about the feasibility of the Chef in Schools Plus program and if it is recommended for larger scale testing.
“It is time to invest in the future by transforming school food. All students deserve healthy lunches to fuel their leaning and give them a healthy future.”
Want to find out more?
Secondary schools interested in finding out more about this project and how to get involved can contact Dr Anita Lawrence: anita.lawrence@deakin.edu.au or +61 39244 5718
HN24004 Plus One Serve: Using what works to increase provision and consumption of vegetables in secondary school canteens is funded through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from Deakin University, the University of Melbourne, Coles Supermarkets, Natoora Melbourne, the National Nutrition Foundation, Chef’s Manifesto, Open Food Network and Discover Regenerative and contributions from the Australian Government.
