Partnering with councils to achieve healthier communities

Did you know we have been supporting public health initiatives across Western Australia with a team of public health nutritionists that deliver healthy eating and cooking programs?  

Most councils have a community strategy that broadly aims to support healthier lifestyles. Often these strategies have activities around physical exercise, mental health, community gatherings or workshops. At the heart of healthier living is food and groceries, which is why several councils have chosen to include our nom! programs in their overall plan.  

nom! is our answer to providing Western Australians with the skills and knowledge needed to support healthy eating and improve their confidence to prepare healthy and affordable meals. nom! makes it easy to plan, select and cook healthy and tasty recipes. Developed by a team of nutritionists and dietitians, nom! is more than a cooking program, our sessions improve people’s food literacy and strengthens social connections within communities. 

During 2023 we successfully delivered nom! to 329 people with over 440 attendances within 12 local government areas including Greater Geraldton, Wiluna, Harvey, Kwinana Mandurah, Rockingham, Kalgoorlie Boulder, Belmont, Fremantle, South Perth, Wanneroo, Bassendean and the Pilbara.   

Our work included supporting the Shire of Wiluna with a team travelling three times last year to the Goldfields. Our nutritionists delivered fun, healthy eating and cooking activities with school aged children during school holidays. Activities kept the children busy during the day and each afternoon the community came together at the local youth centre and shared a delicious spread of snacks, fruit and veg. The collaboration with the Shire resulted in many parents joining in, impacting dozens of local households and exposing children to healthy foods.   

Our Chief Executive Officer Kate O’Hara said “We recognise it can be difficult for some people to provide healthy meals for themselves and families. For some they are not used to food budgeting or have limited experience, limited knowledge or they are time-poor.  Our programs give them the skills to make healthy food choices with a range of nutritious, easy and tasty recipes, even from a basic range of foods.“

With the rising cost-of-living, over 388,000 WA households faced food insecurity in the last 12 months.  “We are really happy to be able to support local governments in their aspiration for all Western Australians to experience the best possible health, wellbeing and quality of life through empowering and enabling people to live healthy lives.“

With over 16 years experience teaching nutrition and cooking within hundreds of communities around the state, we can create a tailored program to suit any group including, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Aboriginal, children, youth, adults, seniors and disability groups. Nutrition topics include healthy eating (with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating as a reference point), budgeting and planning (money saving tips, label reading), sustainability (with our own ‘War on Kitchen Waste’ lesson plan), sugar in drinks, takeaway versus homemade, plus many more.  

If you would like to partner with us in 2024, please submit your interest through our Expression of Interest form below.