Unwrapping the Food and Nutrition Program at Deakin: 1990–1996
From 1978 – when its first cohort of graduates received diplomas in Dietetics and Foods and Food Services – to the current range of courses offered in its Food and Nutrition Sciences discipline, Deakin University has supplied the health and human services sector in Australia with qualified, dedicated and results-driven professionals.
How the program started
The Victorian government launched its innovative food and nutrition policy in 1987 to promote the importance of a healthy and nutritious diet. The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) was established the same year, and one of its first activities was to support the development of the Food and Nutrition Program (FNP). Based originally in the Victorian Health Department, the FNP team moved to Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus before ultimately settling into offices at Deakin Burwood.
Led by Mark Lawrence (now Professor of Ecological Nutrition at Deakin’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), the program collaborated with community-based health and education professionals to deliver statewide messages at a local level. Supermarkets, catering companies, workplace cafeterias, Meals on Wheels and school tuck shops were all strategically targeted with a variety of programs – all designed to help more informed consumers and providers made healthier choices.
Advertising materials for the 2 Fruit ‘n’ 5 Veg campaign. Source: Deakin Archives.
Remember 2 Fruit ‘n’ 5 Veg? That was supported by Deakin!
One of the most visible public campaigns was the 2 Fruit ‘n’ 5 Veg Every Day, which ran from Spring of 1992 and to 1995. It was founded in partnership with the Melbourne Fresh Centre Market Trust and the Department of Food and Agriculture, targeting three main groups:
- consumers
- the horticultural industry
- the food service industry.
Christina Pollard, campaign coordinator, helped promote it through events and numerous interviews for radio and print media. More than 2,200 schools received a booklet recommending activities designed to engage children in healthy eating, and food service outlets were encouraged to participate through the purchase of kits aimed at promoting the 2 Fruit ‘n’ 5 Veg Every Day message.
There were television advertisements, radio interviews, a cookbook, fridge magnets, food demonstrations, celebrities, public events, anthropomorphic carrots, bunting, t-shirts and branded public transport. Subsequent evaluative research found that about half of the Victorian population at the time was aware of the campaign, and a McCann Erikson report commissioned by the Australian Fruit & Vegetable Association noted that the campaign was one of the most successful of its kind in Australia. The message appeared to be cutting through, and phase two would build on the success.
Phase two was launched in 1993 at Deakin’s Stonnington campus by the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Bill McGrath. This phase introduced point-of-sale displays designed to promote the benefits – for both consumers and growers – of purchasing and selling in-season fruit and vegetables. The goal remained to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables and to raise awareness of the recommended intake.
Above: Victorian Minister for Agriculture Bill McGrath at North Fitzroy Primary School promoting the 2 Fruit ‘n’ 5 Veg campaign October 1992. Source: Deakin Archives.
Throwback to 90s recipes
Getting hungry? The following recipe is taken from the 1991 Fruit’n’Veg Snack’n’Pack Cookbook produced by the FNP. The book contains ‘over 200 healthy lunch and snack ideas’. Deakin University Archives cannot claim to have tried them all, but this one, described as a hearty lunchtime meal, looks appetising:
Scan of Snack ‘N’ Pack recipe book from Deakin Archives
Beef and beer casserole
Ingredients:
2 tsp vegetable oil (optional)
500g lean blade steak, cubed
1 leek, sliced
100 g mushrooms, sliced
4 tomatoes, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 cup beer
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 ½ cup peas
¼ cup chopped parsley
Method:
- Brush base of pan with oil, and heat. Add steak and cook until brown on both sides. Remove and place in an ovenproof dish.
- Add leek, mushrooms, tomato and capsicum to pan and cook until leek is soft.
- Add beer, paste and herbs and stir. Bring to boil. Pour into ovenproof dish with browned steak.
- Bake at 180⁰C for one hour then add peas. Continue cooking for 15 minutes or until steak is tender.
- Serve sprinkled with parsley.
Bon appetit.
More campaigns developed by the FNP
Through constant reflection, evaluation and review, the FNP brought a systems approach to nutrition promotion and public health nutrition that continued to help advocate for changes to the food standards code. To ensure the message reached those key stakeholder groups that could help drive real change, the FNP tailored a suite of innovative campaigns.
Catering Improvement Program Coordinator, Vikki Leng, spearheaded a number of these programs and became, on many occasions, the public face of the FNP.
Some of the other FNP programs were:
- Food For Goodness Sake – Catering Improvement Program
- Enjoy Bread and Cereals Every Day
- Winter Day of Taste
- Taste the Healthy Difference
Above: Vikki Leng with Con the Fruiterer at a Taste the Healthy Difference campaign event in 1992.
Where is the FNP now?
Dovetailing with other contemporaneous public health programs, FNP narrowed the focus to highlight just how important diet is in the pursuit of health and happiness. The project came to an end in 1996 when funding was withdrawn. Today, Professor Mark Lawerence is still making an impact at Deakin’s IPAN, working on food policies to tackle the rise of ultra-processed foods. Honorary Associate Professor Julie Woods went on to hold key roles in nutrition and dietetics at the University and has since retired after a proud career.
Research history at Deakin
Interested in learning more stories about the impact and history of research at Deakin? Visit our new exhibition, currently displaying at Burwood Library (Waurn Ponds and Waterfront dates to come later this year). Shaping the Future: Deakin’s Legacy of Research is part of the 50th anniversary exhibition series 1974 to Now: Deakin at 50.
All images from the Deakin University Archives.