Restaurants, hotels, clubs and cafes are integral to Queensland’s vibrant communities. Eating out at local food venues is one of the ways we stay connected and socialise, especially with family and friends. However, far too often the food choices available for children in these venues are unhealthy.
For parents and carer givers, having healthy food and drink options for children is an increasingly important factor when choosing a venue. People expect to have healthier options available—not just on main menus but on kids’ menus too.
Campaign overview
In 2020, Health and Wellbeing Queensland launched the Queensland Healthy Kids Menu, an initiative that supported non-fast food venues to offer healthier menu options for children and make it easier for families to make healthier food and drink choices when eating out.
The benefits to participating venues were compelling. By offering healthier kids menu options, venues could help attract new customers, provide new promotional opportunities, and most importantly, support better health for kids.
Campaign details
Restaurants, cafes, hotels and clubs could register to become an approved Queensland Healthy Kids Menu venue. This required them to review the Code of Practice and Guide for Businesses, which provided specific step-by-step advice for all menu items, including mains, sides, desserts and drinks. To become an approved venue, at least half the meals choices on their kid’s menu needed to meet the guidelines.
Venues were asked to submit their updated healthy kids’ menu for approval. Approved venues were then given access to promotional resources such as posters, flyers, certificates and social media content, to help get the word out to customers and provide greater exposure within your local community.
This included the Queensland Healthy Kids Menu tomato icon, which could be displayed beside the healthier items on kids’ menus. Venues were encouraged to use the tomato icon to make it easier for families to choose healthier options.
Healthy kids’ menu origins
The Healthy Kids Menu initiative was informed by a body of work that took place in the years prior. A Healthy Kids Menu Taskforce was launched in 2015 to co-develop solutions with the restaurant, cafe, hotel and club industries, parents and public health experts to increase healthy food and drink options for children in restaurants, cafes, hotels and clubs. The South Australian Healthy Kids Menu initiative was then developed and piloted in 2017 and delivered by Wellbeing SA.
The Queensland Healthy Kids Menu Initiative was developed in collaboration with Wellbeing SA by adopting materials from the South Australian Healthy Kids Menu Initiative and tailoring it for Queensland.
A health legacy that lives on
The Healthy Kids Menu initiative brought to light the influence that food venues can have on developing healthy eating habits among kids. Eating out doesn’t have to mean chicken nuggets and chips. Instead, it can be an exciting experience where kids taste new and delicious foods that support their overall wellbeing.
