Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club based at Chewton Soldiers Memorial Park has recently been recognised for providing healthier food options to fuel happy, active kids.
The local soccer club is proud to be part of the Vic Kids Eat Well movement and says healthy changes made over just two weeks have seen the club achieve several ‘small bite’ milestones as part of the program.
Castlemaine Goldfields vice president Kasey Sparks has led the club’s Vic Kids Eat Well efforts to boost its healthy food and drink options.
“The bite size changes we’ve made have been welcomed by club members and have given fruit and veggies the chance to shine,” Ms Sparks said.
“We now make a weekly vegetarian soup which we sell with wholemeal bread. We add tomato and baked beans to our jaffles and throw corn and veggie skewers on the BBQ.
“We’ll be limiting chips, chocolates and lollies once supplies run out and have already added healthier snacks such as popcorn, sultanas and muesli bars. A bowl of free fruit is now also available on the counter.
“Club members are happy that we’ve added healthy food to our menu. We’re always open to feedback and welcome ideas on how we can further improve healthier options at our canteen.”
Ms Sparks said they have about 100 kids aged 5-10 enjoy their Mini Roos competition on a Friday night. They also host a junior comp on Saturdays with kids aged between 10-16 years; this provides an opportunity to show other clubs what Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club is doing as part of this healthy eating project.
“We are seeing a lot of active, social and happy kids. The healthy food options blend into the background to support this positive engagement and no one’s upset about not having meat pies and chips,” Ms Sparks said.
“Hospitality is important to our club. We love providing good food options to families and visiting clubs as there’s limited food nearby.
“We’re also working with another sports club that has joined Vic Kids Eat Well, which provides healthy eating inspiration, in addition to the expert support offered by our health promoter at Dhelkaya Health (formerly Castlemaine Health).
“Castlemaine Goldfields Football Club is committed to offering healthier options to our club members and we welcome new members, who can contact us though our website.”
Health promotion officer at Dhelkaya Health Liza Shaw has regularly met with the club to help support its Vic Kids Eat Well journey, occasionally dropping by the Friday night game on her way home.
“I’ve worked closely with Kasey and the club to understand their needs and help step them through these ‘small bite’ changes. We found some of the Vic Kids Eat Well web resources very useful for healthy food and drink ideas that the club could easily implement,” Ms Shaw said.
Dhelkaya Health proudly supports Vic Kids Eat Well, which helps schools, outside school hours care, sports clubs, recreation facilities and council operated facilities to make simple changes that give kids access to healthier food.