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Woolworths at Work makes juggling dietary and cultural requirements a breeze
Freya Lucas
Sep 19, 2023
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Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are legally obliged to have a healthy eating and nutrition policy in place that meets the requirements of the National Quality Framework (NQF), and on top of that, to ensure that the dietary needs of children with allergies and culturally based food restrictions are catered to.
The NQF includes references to the health and nutrition of children in the following elements of the framework:
- National Law (e.g. Part 5)
- National Regulations (77–80, 168)
- National Quality Standard (Quality Area 2)
- Belonging, Being and Becoming (The Early Years Learning Framework)
- My Time, Our Place (The Framework for School Age Care).
In addition, services that provide food and beverages must:
- ensure that food and beverages are nutritious and adequate in quantity
- ensure that food and beverages are appropriate for each child's growth and developmental needs and cultural, religious or health requirements
- have the weekly menu displayed and accessible to parents and carers of children being educated and cared for by the service
- ensure that the weekly menu accurately describes the food and beverages to be provided by the service each day.
Catering to each individual child can be a challenge for those who prepare food for children attending early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, but with the support of innovative tools and solutions, such as Woolworths at Work’s dietary and lifestyle filters, the job is made a little easier.
Specific food requirements and inclusion
Due to allergies, food intolerances, cultural background or family lifestyle preferences, some children may have very specific food requirements.
In supporting the principles of inclusion, services should work with families to make sure that individual children's needs are met. In some instances, services may need to develop additional policies to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children.
Some common dietary needs and preferences which services may encounter include:
- Child follows a vegan diet
- Child is lactose intolerant
- Child requires gluten free food
- Child follows a vegetarian diet
- Child has an allergy to a food/several foods
- Service preferences organic produce
When it comes to ordering and preparing food against such a complex array of needs, it is understandable that cooks, chefs and others tasked with preparing meals can feel confused or overwhelmed, especially when ordering from multiple suppliers.
A single supplier to support your needs
With Woolworths at Work, catering to dietary requirements is made simpler. As a business, Woolworths at Work has a goal of providing all the fresh food and essentials early ECEC services need to do great work.
That means offering a wide range of quality products, loaded with options to suit a variety of dietary, allergen and lifestyle preferences. Woolworths at Work recently added more than 900 products to its range to help address some common dietary needs.
“When busy centre cooks and chefs are browsing our website, they will find plenty of healthier options and products meeting dietary and lifestyle needs such as vegan and vegetarian options, as well as items that are Halal, Kosher and organic,” Stevie Wring, General Manager of Health and Nutrition at Woolworths Group explained.
“But we don’t expect them to spend precious time scrolling through page after page of products,” she continued.
“Our dietary and lifestyle filters make it easier to find what you need.”
Save time with dietary and lifestyle filters
Woolworths at Work has a range of dietary and lifestyle filters which can help busy ECEC professionals find products that meet the needs of children in their care.
When a cook or chef is sitting down to order online, they can use the wide range of dietary and lifestyle filters to quickly search for suitable products.
Available dietary and lifestyle filters which are likely to be of use to those in ECEC settings include:
- Vegan
- Kosher
- Vegetarian
- Low Sugar
- Wholegrain
- Halal
- Organic
- Low Salt
- Egg Free
- Dairy Free
- Tree Nut Free
- No Artificial Preservatives
Disclaimer:
Please note, product filters are intended to act as a guide as Woolworths cannot always ensure the accuracy of product information, and product ingredients may change from time to time. Please review the product label in full, contact the manufacturer or seek medical advice before purchasing.
How to use filters for faster ordering
The process of using filters to make ordering quick and easy is simple for Woolworths at Work customers using the steps below:
Log in and begin the order and select the preferred delivery window so that Woolworths at Work can provide accurate product availability predictions for the chosen time slot.
Select a category from the top navigation bar, e.g. ‘Breakfast & Bakery’
Click ‘Show filters’ to bring up a selection of filters
Apply the appropriate filter e.g. Gluten free
Find the chosen item, select the quantity and add it to the cart
In many ECEC services, certain items in the order are the same week after week. Using custom lists of things which are ordered often can save time and money - why manually search, scroll and add to cart each time when custom lists make things easy?
Simply head to the ‘Lists’ page, click ‘create a list’, give it a name and use the search bar to find certain items.
“Next time you place an order, you can head straight to your saved list, add the items to your cart and checkout in a flash,” Ms Wring said.
“If you need some inspiration, we’ve created a selection of lists, including our top picks for gluten free, organic and vegan products. Be sure to check back in regularly – our team is always adding new items and curated lists to help you find what you need.”
To learn more about how Woolworths at Work can support your ECEC service, visit the website where you can sign up and shop instantly.
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