Go4Fun program now open to all children aged 7 to 13
A free after-school program to help kids be more active and eat healthier is now open to all children aged seven to 13 on the Central Coast, along wit...
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
Caring for children menu planning guides
The NSW Health Caring for Children guides provide menu planning information and checklists to help you plan a menu that meets the nutritional needs of the children in your care.
Submit your menu for an annual review
Our dietitians can assess your menu to see if it meets the Caring for Children guidelines. Menus that meet the guidelines will receive documentation that can be used to show parents, accreditors and the wider community.
Subscribe to Cooks Corner e-newsletter
Our regular Cooks Corner e-newsletter provides information on the latest menu planning news, upcoming events and highlights recent successful menu reviews.
Ask the Dietitian
Got a childcare menu-related nutrition question? Submit your question and one of our dietitians will respond.
Next Cooks Network meeting
Our next Cooks Network meeting will take place at Tuggerah Library meeting room from 2:30pm to 4:30pm on Tuesday 21 May 2024.
Come along to network with other early childcare cooks, enjoy a delicious afternoon tea, and share menu and recipe ideas with our new Menu Plan and Recipe Wall. There will also be an education session on “How to support picky eaters” and the opportunity for a speed menu review.
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!
Other pages you might be interested in
Latest News
Get active to improve your strength and balance this April Falls
Older adults on the Central Coast are being encouraged to get physically active this April as part of April Falls Month.
April Falls is an annual c...
Water challenge offers secondary schools chance to win $4,500 chilled water station
Central Coast Health Promotion Service has launched the Thirsty? Choose Water! Challenge, offering secondary schools on the Central Coast a chance to ...