Advocate, Educate & Support – Eating Well

There are many opportunities for us to support healthy eating in the Illawarra. Advocacy, education and support can happen at schools, between friends, at work, within organisations and at any level of government. Start a conversation in your local community, talk to your friends, colleagues and peers, share information or write to your local councillors and Members of Parliament. You can:

Talk to friends, colleagues and peers business about:

• Healthy recipe ideas.
• Healthy restaurant and cafe recommendations.
• Tips you've implemented to help you eat well.

Talk to local businesses about:

• Showcasing healthier food selections.
• Reducing the quantity of highly processed food on offer.
• Communicating with customers about what nutritious food they want on the shelves.

Speak to school and university staff about:

• Encouraging the school canteen to play an active role in providing healthy food and drink choices for students.
• Inviting parents to P&C meetings to influence decisions about healthy food policies.
• Providing drink bottle refill stations.
• Encouraging food outlets to play an active role in providing healthy food and drink choices for students.
• Providing access to water fountains and water refill stations.
• Promoting breastfeeding friendly venues and facilities.

Write to your local council or Members of Parliament about:

• Increasing access to water in public facilities - water fountains and/or drink bottle refill stations.
• Developing healthy and sustainable catering guidelines for use at council events and council-supported community activities.
• Permitting and encouraging affordable access to fruit and vegetables, for example, community gardens and growers’ markets.
• Ensuring that new developments consider the location of supermarkets, fresh food outlets and community food services so they are within easy access for residents.
• Preference being given to public space advertising that features healthier products.
• Avoiding the location of outlets that sell mainly unhealthy foods, such as fast food outlets and service stations, around schools and sporting facilities.
• Encouraging food outlets to consider using healthier oils in cooking.
• Supporting the delivery of workshops or forums at preschools, childcare centres and schools on growing food, healthy eating, cooking and avoiding food wastage.
• Promoting breastfeeding-friendly venues.