Pizzas, pies, hot dogs and croissants have disappeared from the canteen menu at Sunshine Heights Primary School.
Despite being crowd pleasers among the pupils, the school council has decided to make healthy choices the only choice.
Parent and dietician Lisa McCarthy, who is also on the school council’s canteen sub-committee, said the decision to change canteen offerings was made after a six-month review.
She said a survey found that more parents wanted healthier foods such as fruit and plain water on the menu in place of soft drinks and lollies.
“We decided to follow Nutrition Australia’s Healthy Eating Advisory Service’s guidelines that use the traffic light system,” Ms McCarthy said.
The traffic light system puts food into three categories – green is the best choice, amber foods should be chosen carefully and red foods should be limited.
“We took away sugary food. We found our menu had too many ‘amber’ items,” Ms McCarthy said.
Ms McCarthy, who has twins in prep and another child in grade 3, said she hadn’t heard any negative feedback since the new menu was introduced.
“We had the support from families for the change,” she said.
