Members of the Wellington Primary Care Partnership braved the elements on Saturday, February 26 to encourage sustainable eating among young people and families.
On a cool and windy day, the organisation erected a makeshift stall in Sale’s Pedestrian Mall, offering free produce as part of the Eat Nude, Eat Local and Eat Just Enough project.
Event coordinator Susan Hadden was present at the event, and spoke about the initiative to the Gippsland Times.
“I’m interested in, and passionate about health and food, and I was offered the opportunity to work on a health project with Wellington Primary Care Partnership,” Ms Hadden said.
“The project involved bringing on-board a young co-design team, which I’ve worked with, to develop ideas and messaging to encourage the eating of healthy, fresh produce, as opposed to processed foods, and also to encourage sustainable eating and sustainable patterns around food behaviour.”
Also present on the day was Heather MacGregor, volunteering her time to provide free reusable bags to passers-by.
Ms MacGregor became involved with the initiative through her food class at school.
“I’m really interested in sustainability and healthy eating, so I thought this was a really good opportunity to get involved with,” Ms MacGregor said.
“I think it’s important (to be involved) because our generation is very into fast food and packaged items, and I think we need to eat better and eat healthy just to have a better future for us all.”
The stall drew plenty of interest among locals, despite the inclement weather, with most taking advantage of the free fruits and vegetables on offer.
Ms Hadden was very pleased with the turnout on the day.
“It’s been great, actually!” Ms Hadden said.
“(I’ve) been really pleased, and very happy to see a number of young families come by and showing interest, so that’s exactly what we had hoped for.”
Anybody wanting more information about the project is welcome to contact Wellington Primary Care Partnership on 5143 8845, or visit wellingtonpcp.com.au
