Pyramid Awards for Excellence in School Tuckshops

The Pyramid Award Guidelines (click here to preview the guidelines) take into consideration products that are for sale in school tuckshops. The guidelines also encourage convenors to keep up to date on topics such as nutrition, food hygiene and tuckshop management, by attending courses, seminars and conferences.

By applying for a Nutrition Australia Pyramid Award, the school tuckshop can receive a guide as to how healthy they presently are. Tuckshops are provided with feedback about their current menu and ways that it can be improved. Sometimes a tuckshop may just miss out on an Award, but with a simple change or two, the tuckshop can easily improve the quality of food that is provided to students and staff. Nutrition Australia's Dietitians and Home Economists can provide members of the Nutrition in Schools Advisory Service with the advice and support they need to implement these changes.

The Pyramid Award Guidelines give convenors options and ideas on how to improve the health profile of the tuckshop. The Pyramid Award Guidelines encourage convenors to restrict access to lollies, chocolate, snack bars, chips and soft drinks, which includes sports drinks.

There are a number of ways to restrict access to these less healthier foods, such as:

• sell a small range of these foods;

• limit the time these foods are sold at the tuckshop eg. not sold before school; not sold at morning tea; last half of lunch break;

• consider positioning the food out of sight or below eye level, eg. kept below counter;

• preferential pricing: make the healthier alternatives cheaper.

With regard to home baked products, tuckshop convenors should provide enthusiastic parents with recipes that are low in fat and sugar, but high in carbohydrates and fibre. The home baked foods should meet Nutrition Australia’s Food Selection Guidelines for Children and Adolescents (click here to view the Food Selection Guidelines for Children and Adolescents). If your not sure where to find recipes that meet the Guidelines, just check the Nutrition Australia publication, Tuckshop Team Mate.

So why not submit your menu for a Pyramid Award and a panel of Nutrition Australia Dietitians and Home Economists can review your menu and provide feedback about its health profile as well as offer food ideas to incorporate into your menu.  Click here to preview the Pyramid Award Guidelines.