What is Fresh Made?

Fresh Made is a Heart Foundation nutrition service that helps food suppliers in education settings supply healthier tasty food. This includes school canteens, tuckshops, early learning centres, boarding school caterers, external lunch suppliers and ingredient wholesalers.

If you’re a food supplier, Fresh Made can provide comprehensive resources to help boost healthy food and drink options available for kids. Our resources include menu assessment, tips on how to make menu changes and help with recipe development.

Why is this needed?

A healthy diet during childhood and adolescence promotes optimal health, growth and cognitive development and can contribute to prevention of disease later in life. 

Early learning centres and schools are an important setting for nutrition intervention as they have the power to influence children’s knowledge and behaviour. 

Food services can have a major impact on the foods and drinks that students are exposed to and consume. 

New Zealand early learning centres and schools have a duty to promote healthy food and nutrition to all students so as to meet the nutritional and developmental needs of each child. 

However, many food services and food suppliers find it difficult to interpret and apply nutrition guidelines due to limited nutrition knowledge and lack of nutritional support.   

Our service supports food suppliers by providing practical and visual tools, as well as tailored nutrition advice, that helps produce food children love to eat. And it’s all in line with the Ministry of Health’s healthy food and beverage guidelines. 

Fresh Made Service:

Free services

  • translated information and resources for end users
  • recipe and menu assessment
  • tailored and practical advice on any changes that could be made to meet the Ministry of Health’s food and beverage guidelines
  • advice on suitable products that can be provided in education settings
  • training on how to supply and promote healthy food and drink in line with the Ministry of Health’s healthy food and beverage guidelines.

To find out more about menu requirements, please contact us.

Benefits for schools and early learning services

Consuming healthy food and drink every day not only improves students’ overall health but can also improve their concentration and behaviour. Fresh Made nutritional service can support your school or early learning service by:

  • supporting your foodservice to provide healthier freshly made foods which will improve children’s attendance, behaviour and performance
  • demonstrating to parents that your school/centre is taking responsibility for children’s education, their health and wellbeing.
     

Benefits for food suppliers

Fresh Made can expand your network and bring benefits for food suppliers too.

  • Help meet the growing demand for healthier freshly made foods.
  • Connect with schools and early learning services across New Zealand through the Heart Foundation network.

Resources

Fresh Made provides the following resources to assist lunch providers to create healthier tasty foods that meet the nutrition guidelines.

Got a questions, please contact us.