Nutrition and Food Hygiene Award Scheme for South Australian Child Care Centres

What about centres where food is brought from home?

Your centre can still participate in the Start Right - Eat Right (SRER) Award. Your centre will need to provide written guidelines for parents on the amount and type of foods and drinks to be sent to child care. If morning and afternoon tea is provided, nutritious choices need to be included.

Your centre will also need a Nutrition Policy. All of these requirements will be covered in the SRER training. There are some assignment activities that will need to be completed in order to meet SRER Award Criteria.

What can your centre gain from the SRER Award?

• SRER demonstrates to parents that your centre provides healthy, nutritious and safe food for their children.

• SRER gives your centre recognition for the good work you are already doing!

• SRER allows you to achieve a high standard relating to accreditation requirements for nutrition and food safety in your centre.

• SRER means your centre meets a benchmark for good nutrition practice in child care.

• SRER has benefits for food budget planning, as menu planning training enables cooks and directors to cost their food budget efficiently and accurately.

• Your centre will benefit from project promotion related to the award.

How much does it cost?

Analysis revealed that the median total cost per child, per day to meet the minimum requirements of Start Right-Eat Right was $1.60 for centres that don’t receive fruit donations, compared to $1.46 for those centres that do; a difference of $0.14. Practically speaking this means that an average 60-place childcare centre would need to budget a minimum of $480 per week in order to meet the requirements of Start Right-Eat Right. This analysis was done for the period from September 2009 to March 2010.

How long does it take to get the Award?

It usually takes about two to three months from training until gaining the award. This gives time to adjust the menu and policy, train all staff in food hygiene and ensure you have a valid food safety audit by your Environmental Health Officer (EHO).

Once your centre has the SRER award it is valid for two years, after which time you can complete a simple re-accreditation process.

How can we let families know we have the award?

Once your centre has received the SRER award you can inform parents and carers by displaying the award certificate. You can also display a metal gate sign with the wording:

"Start Right - Eat Right Award Centre. We provide a high quality, healthy balanced menu for children. Our staff are trained in menu planning and food hygiene."

The gate sign can be purchased for $50 (includes postage and GST).

Want more information about training? See SRER Training.

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