Hello to the entire Kurilpa community. I’d like to explain to all the new families how the Kurilpa kitchen is an integral part of your child’s day, and how the teachers and I work as a team to provide healthy lunches and education to see them thrive. Nutrition plays an important role in contributing to your children’s health and well-being. The foods your children consume in their early childhood years are the building blocks to see them grow physically, emotionally and intellectually into their adult lives.
Our menu offers 50% of the children’s recommended daily intake of nutrients by offering foods that are mostly unprocessed, additive free and as close to their natural state as possible. Our focus is to keep foods simple to highlight natural flavours, nourishing to assist growing minds and bodies, educational because healthy food choices is a learned behaviour, and joyful to highlight that eating should be a happy experience to share with others.
We provide a comfortable and social setting at meal times where the children enjoy food with their friends and teachers. Picnics are a favourite! While we actively encourage children to taste new foods, we respect their preferences and allow children to eat according to their own appetites. Food is never withheld as a punishment or offered as a reward.
Mealtimes also provide opportunity for children to develop age appropriate self-help skills. This begins with eating using fingers, learning to hold a spoon and fork, through to pouring drinks and using tongs for serving.
To assist the children to learn about where food comes from and basic environmental issues, all the age groups participate in gardening, cooking experiences, worm farming, composting and recycling.
We hope to provide foods that most of the children are familiar with like pasta, rice, pancakes and sandwiches, but also that reflects the multicultural nature of our community. If you would like to contribute a recipe your family enjoys and you think would work at Kurilpa, please see me in the kitchen with your ideas.
Cheers,
Lizzie