Lesson in healthy eating

Forget sugar-filled treats and packets of chips - the children at Casa Nova Kindergarten in Oamaru are very keen on healthy eating.

On Monday, cook Jan Bell dished up spaghetti bolognese for lunch, followed by bread pudding, prepared in a kitchen in the corner of the classroom.

While there has been a healthy eating focus at the kindergarten for about three years, it is only the second term that meals have been served.

Head teacher Sarah Newlands said the kindergarten was in a lower socio-economic area and there had been some health issues and hungry children.

Since the children had been getting regular, healthy meals, she noticed improved behaviour in the classroom.

"They're just happy and full and listening and learning more," Mrs Newlands said.

The kindergarten had its own garden and orchard and the produce grown was used in its cooking.

At the moment, homegrown apples and pears were being used for desserts.

The children were involved with food preparation, and crockery, rather than plastic plates, was used to serve the food, with no breakages.

Toast, cereal, yoghurt and fruit were being offered for breakfast, as some children were not having breakfast at home.

The initiative also aimed to involve parents and they had embraced the project, Mrs Newlands said.

Some children, who were initially fussy eaters, now tried everything.

It was of particular help if the food was grown at the kindergarten, she said.

The children brought their own lunch boxes once a week and, although there were some issues, they had "improved out of sight".

The kindergarten has applied for a Heart Foundation gold award, which will be the first for a kindergarten or early childhood centre in Oamaru.

The kindergarten had been "phenomenally successful", Heart Foundation health promotion co-ordinator Jo Arthur said.