The KS Environmental Group is proud to announce our involvement with a brand new social responsibility initiative that is to be launched in the Hume City Council area – the Healthy Start program.
Healthy Start
We’ve probably all heard the old saying that ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’. I know myself I can’t function or concentrate properly if I haven’t had my bowl of cereal or toast. But not everyone is able to afford this so called necessity.
Over recent times it has been observed that many children come to school in the City of Hume without an adequate breakfast. This is due to poverty and families who are struggling to cope. While a number of Hubs are able to provide breakfasts, they are only able to do this once a week due to limited resources.
The thought is that by providing a healthy breakfast more often will assist children and families and give some added support.
As well as providing much needed breakfast, the Pilot will have additional benefits:
- Parent Engagement – the Pilot will involve parents, preschool aged children as well as students. Parents will be encouraged to attend with their children and participate in the Program.
- Healthy Eating – the Pilot will promote and model healthy eating and provide information on the importance of nutrition.
- Employment and training opportunities – The Hubs provide a pathway for parents from volunteering through to training and employment.
How will it work?
A Healthy Start session will be provided at St Dominic’s Primary School, Meadows Primary school, and Bethal Primary School for one session per week in terms 3 & 4, providing an additional 17 sessions for each school. Healthy Start will provide cereal, toast, eggs, milk condiments and fruit. A facilitator will be present for three hours to coordinate the program. This position will be used to provide on the job training for parents who volunteer with the pilot. A hospitality training course will be considered for those parents who are interested in furthering their skills.
By the end of 2015 the Pilot will be completed and all going well will be adopted as a permanent program in 2016 and beyond. The KS Environmental Group is excited to be a stakeholder of this very worthwhile new venture and plan to be involved at a ‘hands on’ level too. We will keep you posted with developments and photos as the program progresses!