To coincide with National Nutrition and Children’s Weeks, Golden Plains Shire launched the locally developed children’s book, ‘The Super Veggie Four’.
Designed to portray vegetables as fun, exciting, and super, this storybook was shaped by families and children from across Golden Plains Shire. It tells the story of three local children from Rokewood, Smythesdale and Cape Clear, who are visited by ‘super hero vegetables’ and helped in their journey to change traditional family meals from ‘ordinary to rainbow,’ discovering delicious and healthy vegetables.
Launch activities were held over two weeks, including a reading of the storybook at Golden Plains Shire’s Children’s Week Celebration on Wednesday 23 October, which was attended by more than 220 local families and children. Through these launch events, the book has already reached more than 600 three- and four-year old-children and family members in Bannockburn, Meredith, Inverleigh, Rokewood, Teesdale, Haddon and Scarsdale.
As is common in Australia, the majority of Golden Plains Shire families and children do not consume the recommended five serves of vegetables a day. ‘The Super Veggie Four’ is part of a concerted effort from Council to empower community members, and shift the public perception of eating vegetables to one that is fun for children. Woven throughout the book are simple tips to help support families to make vegetables a fun and attractive choice for children, rather than pressuring children to eat them.
Council’s work and messaging aligns closely with a collaborative approach in both the G21 Geelong Region Alliance and Central Highlands region to increase vegetable consumption through a combined partnership approach to health and wellbeing
Mayor Cr Owen Sharkey says that ‘The Super Veggie Four’ is a fantastic book that is fun while also reaches local children with an important message.
“Like municipalities across Victoria, the majority of families and children in Golden Plains do not eat the recommended five serves of vegetables a day. This book is all about increasing vegetable consumption through changing children’s perceptions by making it fun and enjoyable to eat their greens.”
“This book has been shaped by local families in our Shire, and it’s fantastic to see that it has already been a hit with local kids over the past two weeks.”
“‘The Super Veggie Four’ is a fun read for children, and also gives families valuable tips and advice, such as not giving up if a child does not like a vegetable the first time they try it.”
Golden Plains Shire Council is currently launching ‘The Super Veggie Four’ in the Shire’s early learning centres, and is exploring a process to make the book available for public purchase.