Gumnut Cottage provides healthy meals in line with NSW Health Department Munch and Move Program guidelines. In 2016 we received a Certificate of Achievement from NSW Health stating that our menu adheres to the ‘Caring for Children Guidelines’ and meets the National Quality Framework. In 2022 we received a 5 star Excellent rating for the Scores on Doors initiative from the Coffs Harbour Council and NSW Food Authority.
All meals are prepared on the premises daily and are designed to ensure your child is receiving their daily nutritional requirements from the various food groups whilst they are at Gumnut. Children are able to enjoy morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and late afternoon tea. We offer a six week rotating menu. The weekly menu is always displayed on the Parent noticeboard to provide full dietary information to families. Our cook, Angela has a certificate in advanced hospitality and catering (supervisor) and a certificate in business catering and is undertaking the Munch and Move nutritious food preparations courses. Please advise us when your child commences Gumnut if they have any food allergies or intolerances, as well as their likes/dislikes. We can easily arrange an appointment with our Cook and Munch Coordinator to chat about this.
At Gumnut Cottage we aim to encourage mealtimes to be relaxed and social experiences, where we encourage children to try different food types and textures in a positive eating environment. We ensure that the food offered to children is appropriate to their age and development with a firm emphasis on nutritional value. At Gumnut Cottage we value parental and family input into our menu design and often survey favourite meals to add to our nutritious menu.
We have embedded one of our quality improvement areas by continuing to plant, grow, care for and harvest our own fruits, vegetables and herbs which the children love to participate in. We regularly use our ‘home grown’ produce in our menu and this sustainable practice has encouraged many children to try new flavours and food types and some are now creating their own gardens at home.