Three hundred thousand more Australian children will get better nutrition and learn healthy food habits for life under a Shorten Labor Government plan to expand the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program.
After years of being ignored by Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, Labor will ensure the highly respected program can now help about 450,000 school students choose the most nutritious food.
Shadow Minister for Health Catherine King, and Shadow Minister for Education and Member for Adelaide Kate Ellis visited Blair Athol North School today to launch Labor’s ongoing commitment to the hugely successful program, initiated by the highly respected food writer and chef.
One in four Australian children is overweight or obese. This is particularly concerning because early habits and health outcomes tend to persist later in life.
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program addresses this problem by helping children form positive food habits for life. It delivers and supports fun food education in schools like Blair Athol North, in partnership with educators, parents and the wider community.
Labor rolled the program out nationally with a $13 million investment in the 2008-09 Budget, and later continued the program with a further $5.4 million commitment.
Under Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, the program has received no federal support. But thanks to its generous donors, the program still reaches 150,000 students in more than 1,000 schools.
A Shorten Labor Government will expand the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program with a $5 million investment. Labor’s new commitment will allow the program to reach more than 300,000 additional students over four years.
Labor’s commitment forms part of a $300 million investment to build healthy communities and prevent chronic disease. As part of that package, Labor will also develop a National Nutrition Framework, continue the National Children’s Nutrition Survey, and develop Australia’s first National Physical Activity Strategy.
Labor’s plan to build healthy communities and prevent chronic disease is at: www.100positivepolicies.org.au/building_healthy_communities_and_preventing_chronic_disease_fact_sheet