No time is more important to ensure players are fuelling right than at state or regional carnivals, and competition events.
Whether food is provided by an external caterer hired by the club or association, provided by the canteen or volunteers at the club or association, or brought by players themselves it is important to offer healthy food and drinks to ensure players and their families are fuelling right.
Healthy self-catering tips
When the club or association is providing the food and drink options to players during a carnival or event follow these tips:
- Focus on providing carbohydrate and protein rich food such as, fresh fruit and vegetables, toasties, cereal, milk, yoghurt, muesli bars and fruit buns. Ensure these are easy to grab.
- Limit any high fat foods such as, bacon, sausages, chips, chocolate or biscuits and keep them in shorter supply.
Tips for catering hire
When an external caterer is supplying the food and drinks at an event or carnival, ensuring healthy options are accessible and encouraged can be as simple as inserting a requirement based on the A Better Choice Food and Drink targets in the contract or agreement. Such as:
- Provide 50% or more food and drinks from the green category
- Provide 20% or less of food and drinks from the red category
- Provide no more than 20% intense artificially or naturally sweetened drinks.
Advice for players when bringing food from home
Promote healthy eating by distributing education resources to players and members that highlight the importance of consuming healthy options before, during and after exercise to fuel the body effectively and boost performance.
View our Healthy Eating for Events guide.
Health and Wellbeing Queensland acknowledges the work of Queensland Health in developing content included in this resource.