Early Childcare Menu Support
Providing early childcare services with practical resources, menu reviews, training and a supportive community to help them supply nourishing menus to children in their care.
Helping you to plan nourishing menus for the children in your care
Infancy and early childhood is an important time for focusing on nutrition and obesity prevention strategies, as food preferences and eating habits are established during this time and are often retained into adulthood. The early childhood education and care setting provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce children to a wide range of nourishing foods and to limit their intake of discretionary foods.
Central Coast Local Health District’s Nutrition Service works with Central Coast Health Promotion Service to support our local early childhood services to ensure their menus meet the nutritional needs of the children in their care. We offer menu planning resources, menu review services, and training opportunities. We also provide regular, ongoing support through our Cooks Network meetings, Cooks Corner e-newsletter, Ask the Dietitian service and local childcare recipe bank.
Healthy menu support
Find help and inspiration
Here are some additional free resources to support you in planning and serving a menu that meets the Caring for Children guidelines.
Healthy early childhood recipes
Cook of the Year Award
Our popular Central Coast Early Childhood Education and Care Service Cook of the Year Award is back in 2024.
The Cook of the Year will win a $300 voucher for kitchen supplies and their service will win a children’s cooking pack and set of food-related storybooks. The winner will be announced at our final Cooks Network meeting for 2024 on Monday 11 November.
Who is eligible?
Any cook whose childcare menu has been awarded a Central Coast Local Health District Healthy Menu Award since November 2023 is eligible to enter. If your menu hasn’t been awarded a Healthy Menu Award since 1 November 2023, send it in for a review by the Central Coast Public Health Nutrition team so you don’t miss out!