Menu review prompts healthy changes at Story House Dandenong North

Support from Monash Health helped the service review food provision, share nutrition information with families and identify further health and wellbeing priorities.

Story House Early Learning Dandenong North has added more vegetables, greens and fruit to its menu following an assessment supported by Monash Health. The review helped the team examine both the foods offered and the quantities needed to support children’s nutrition.

The service, which supports around 70 children and their families, used Healthy Places Healthy Futures to guide its work. Food, nutrition and oral health became priorities, alongside physical activity and movement.

“The menu assessment helped us better understand children’s nutritional needs and identify ways to strengthen our menu,” service director Shweta Rajan said.

“As a result, we included more vegetables, greens and fruit and gained a better understanding of the types and amounts of foods that support children’s growth and development.”

Menu assessment extends to family conversations

The service worked with Monash Health health promotion practitioner Catherine Delaney through the Healthy Places assessment process. Ms Rajan said the support helped educators review existing practices and identify opportunities for improvement.

The work also created opportunities to share nutrition information with families. “Families have benefited from learning more about children’s nutritional needs and the foods that support their health and wellbeing,” she said.

Beyond the menu, Story House has strengthened its focus on oral health and is working towards recognition for the physical activity and movement priority. These areas form part of the service’s broader approach to reviewing health and wellbeing across its operations.

Framework helps services identify practical next steps

Healthy Places Healthy Futures provides Victorian early childhood services with a framework and action guides covering six priorities. These include food, nutrition and oral health; mental health and wellbeing; sustainability and health; physical activity and movement; sun protection; and smoking and vaping.

Ms Delaney said the framework helps services navigate the information available to them. “There is a lot of information available about health and wellbeing. Healthy Places brings that information together into a framework that services can use to take a whole-service approach.”

Monash Health’s early childhood health promotion team supports services across Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia. Its assistance includes menu assessments, professional learning, resources, action planning and policy development, alongside guidance on health and wellbeing priorities.

Connecting health promotion with everyday practice

The framework aligns with the National Quality Framework and encourages services to build on their existing work. Under NQS Element 2.1.3, healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child.

Ms Rajan said connecting health promotion with curriculum and continuous improvement helped make it part of daily practice. “This is important because it ensures that promoting children’s health and wellbeing is not an additional program but an integral part of our curriculum,” she said.

For services considering similar work, Healthy Places offers guidance and access to local health promotion support to identify priorities and plan their next steps. The initiative is supported by the Victorian Government and Cancer Council Victoria, with further information available through its early childhood services page.