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.
For parents and carers, having healthy food and drink options for children is an increasingly important factor when choosing a venue. People expect to have healthier options available in restaurants, hotels, clubs and cafes—not just on main menus but on kids menus too.
Offering healthier kids menu options can help attract new customers, provide new promotional opportunities, and most importantly, support better health for kids.
If you’re keen to offer healthier food choices for children, the Queensland Healthy Kids Menu initiative is for you.
Approved venues will be 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 includes the Queensland Healthy Kids Menu tomato icon, which can be displayed beside the healthier items on your kids menu. Venues are encouraged to use the tomato icon to make it easier for families to choose healthier options.
Good nutrition in childhood supports healthy growth and development, helps kids learn about tastes and textures and lays the foundations for future health and wellbeing. It sets kids up with healthy lifelong habits.
In general, children are consuming too many unhealthy foods and drinks and not eating enough vegetables and fruit. This imbalance can make it challenging to maintain a healthy weight. In Queensland, one in four children live with overweight and obesity, impacting both physical and mental health and wellbeing.
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.
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 is now delivered by Wellbeing SA.
The Queensland Healthy Kids Menu Initiative has been developed in collaboration with Wellbeing SA by adopting materials from the South Australian Healthy Kids Menu Initiative and tailoring it for Queensland.
Last updated 11 October 2023
© Health and Wellbeing Queensland 2020
Health and Wellbeing Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Owners and custodians of the lands from across Queensland. We pay our respects to the Elders past and present for they are holders of the memories, traditions, the culture and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Queensland.
