Children’s Food Bowl Festival

Sending off the school holidays with a bang, the entire Shepparton community gathered in warm and sunny Victoria Park Lake for the highly anticipated Children’s Food Bowl Festival. Spearheaded by Katie Thorp (Healthy Kids Advisor – City of Greater Shepparton), this free event was a celebration of the Goulburn Valley food bowl, bringing together the community and hosting various local fresh food organisations to engage over 300 children and families from across the City of Greater Shepparton.

Children were able to visit and learn from interactive stalls held by:

• Fruit Growers Victoria
• Shepparton FoodShare
• Start Outdoors
• Goulburn Valley Water
• Greater Shepparton City Council
• Primary Care Connect
• Goulburn Valley Public Health Unit
• Culture Kitchen
• Shepparton Art Museum
• Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Corporation
• and many more!

The Healthy Kids Advisors stall was a popular stop among attendees, engaging hundreds of children throughout the day. Starting off by tasting a variety of microgreens – from broccoli and peas, to sunflower and kohl rabi – children learnt how to plant their own by walking through the hands-on stations set up at the stall. Sunflower and broccoli were a hit! With the bursting flavours of microgreens and the short turnaround of planting them, the children were excited to take home their creations and kick off their own gardening projects.

The main stage hosted some exciting guests, including Christie McIntosh (Healthy Kids Advisor – City of Hume) who walked through ‘Composting Fun’ with the children. Murray Dairy farmer Kristy Grant, Jeremy Rensford from FoodShare, and the City of Greater Shepparton’s Waste Education Officer, together with Junkyard Beats and the Polyglot Theatre Bees, took audience participation to the next level. There was never a dull moment in the day.

The Children’s Food Bowl Festival had been a goal of Katie’s since she began her work as a Healthy Kids Advisor.  

“Throughout my time as a Healthy Kids Advisor, I have been asked many times where our food comes from. Do apples grow on trees, or underground? Where does milk come from? Is bread a healthy food or an unhealthy food? With the support from community organisations and the City of Greater Shepparton council, I created a festival to celebrate all the wonderful produce and food we have in the area, whilst also educating our local families in a fun and engaging way.” 

~ Katie Thorp, Healthy Kids Advisor – City of Greater Shepparton 

This event was a great demonstration of the combined force of local communities, with the support of our Healthy Kids Advisors, and how the initiative has creatively engaged and empowered regional communities to continue the work around fresh, healthy food and drink for children and young people.

About the Healthy Kids Advisors initiative 

The Healthy Kids Advisors initiative is delivered by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and supported by the Victorian Government and Australian Government. 

This community engagement initiative is active in 13 priority communities to spread pleasurable food education and encourage participation in the state-wide Vic Kids Eat Well movement. 

In collaboration with local health promoters, Council and community, our Advisors offer free support and simple ideas to boost healthy and delicious food and drink in schools, sports clubs, after-hours care and council-run facilities. 

Want more information?

Visit the Healthy Kids Advisors news page or contact us at hka@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

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