New England North West services share in HealthWISE grants

Six early childhood services in the New England region of New South Wales will soon have new kitchen gardens thanks to small grants from local nonprofit HealthWISE.

 

Armidale’s Hobbit Preschool & Childcare Centre, Goodstart Early Learning South Tamworth, Gunnedah Preschool, Winanga-Li Early Learning & Care Service (also in Gunnedah), Narrabri’s Kogil Street Preschool and Willow Tree Preschool were the successful applicants, and will share $25,000 in funding. 

 

Grants of up to $3000 each will go towards developing the kitchen gardens, along with a membership to the popular Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, an online community which provides professional development and resources for educators establishing kitchen gardens, with a specialised stream for early childhood services. 

 

The HealthWISE Gift Fund supports community projects that promote health and wellbeing, with 2024 being the second year for the early learning initiative, which supported 15 services to create kitchen gardens in 2023. 

 

For HealthWISE Health Promotion Officer Kritika Jain, supporting early learning settings is a way to encourage healthy eating and to boost fruit and vegetable intake, which not only improves nutrition but also fosters positive food habits for a healthier life, reinforcing the connection between a healthy body, mind, and environment.

 

Speaking with local media about her service’s success, Willow Tree Preschool educator Leah Meyer said the service is “very excited to embark on our kitchen garden journey.” 

 

“As the majority of our children are from farming families, (they) have a passion for understanding the way our foods are grown.” 

 

The HealthWISE Gift Fund was established in 2018 and provides small grants to support activities focused on disease prevention. Learn more about the Fund here. 

 

For the original coverage of this story, as produced by The New England Times please see here.