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Victoria Avenue Public School
Healthy Eating – Lunchbox Tips
Healthy lunches and snacks are important for children and improve concentration and learning. Parents
should encourage children to be involved in preparing their lunch and the choices about foods to
include. Praise your child when they choose healthy foods for their lunchbox.
Please ensure that your child can open all items they bring to school by themselves. Always ensure that
if your child brings anything requiring a spoon, that a spoon is packed in their lunchbox.
Glass containers and aluminium cans are not allowed.
Six Items to put in a lunch box
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Vegetables
Fruit
Dairy Food – Cheese ( e.g. cubed) or yoghurt (not in a tube)
Protein Food – Slice of lean meat, hardboiled egg or beans
Starchy Food – Bread, roll, pita or flat bread, rice, fruit bread or crackers.
Water (On hot days freeze half a bottle of water the night before and fill the other half the next
morning with cold water, this way they will have cold water all day)
Foods to avoid
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Crisps and oven baked savory biscuits – very high in salt and fat
Muesli and Chocolate bars – very high in sugar
Sweet drinks which include soft drinks, juice, cordial, flavoured milk.
Donuts and cakes
Lollies, honey and jams
Fatty meats such as salami and Strasbourg.
VAPS: Include, Inspire, Innovate
Food Safety
In most cases food is stored in your child’s lunchbox for several hours, so the lunchbox needs to be kept
cool.
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Choose an insulated lunchbox with a freezer pack, or include a wrapped frozen water bottle.
Perishable foods such as dairy products, eggs and sliced meats should be kept cool and eaten
within about 4 hours of preparation. Don’t pack these unless they have been cooled in the fridge
overnight.
If you include leftover meals such as meats, pasta and rice dishes, ensure that you pack a frozen
icepack into the lunch.
Crunch and Sip
Crunch and Sip is a healthy eating program implemented at our school. It encourages the students to
develop a healthy lifestyle by allowing them to ‘crunch’ on a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable and ’sip’
water during the afternoon tea break.
Some examples of suitable Crunch and Sip options.
Special Lunch Days
Our school does not currently have a canteen up and running. Instead the P&C occasionally organise
‘Special Lunch Days’ whereby students can purchase a special lunch such as sushi, hotdogs or pizza.
These special days are advertised at morning assembly, in the school newsletter and on the community
notice board.
We thank you in anticipation for your support of healthy food choices.
VAPS: Include, Inspire, Innovate