About the Food for Sport guidelines
The Food for Sport guidelines are in the process of being updated and rebranded to A Better Choice for Sport and Recreation.
This strategy will support stadiums, sport and recreation facilities, and local sporting clubs to make healthy happen for their players, staff, volunteers, and spectators. Please visit A Better Choice for Sport and Recreation for up to date information.
Sport and recreation clubs and associations play a vital role in providing opportunities for Queenslanders of all ages to lead healthy active lifestyles.
Your club or association already supports active lifestyles through sport and recreation so why not combine that with the provision and promotion of healthier food and drink choices, and help build a culture that supports fun, safe and healthy active environments?
Working out what is required to introduce healthier food and drink choices in your club or association is probably easier than you think.
Healthy food and drink guidelines
These guidelines have been developed to reflect that sporting clubs canteens serve adults and children and show you how to provide and promote healthy food and drinks. This includes:
- offering plenty of fruit and vegetables
- plenty of water
- limiting the intake of foods or drinks high in saturated fat, salts and/or sugars.
To learn more about how to provide and promote healthier food and drink, follow our step-by-step healthy food and drink guidelines:
- Step 1: Starting off
- Step 2: Taking stock
- Step 3: Planning for change
- Step 4: Making the change
- Step 5: Assessing your progress
- Step 6: Beyond the canteen
Green, Amber, and Red classifications
The Food for Sport guidelines classifies food and drinks as Green, Amber and Red, according to their nutritional value:
- Green food and drinks are healthy choices because they are excellent sources of important nutrients, are low in saturated fat and/or added sugar and/or salt and help avoid intake of excess energy (kilojoules). Provide plenty of Green food and drinks – at least 50% of food and drinks.
- Amber food and drinks have some nutritional value and moderate amounts of saturated fat and/or added sugar and/or salt and can contribute to excess energy intake when consumed in large amounts. Choose carefully from Amber food and drinks – a maximum of 30% of food and drinks.
- Red food and drinks are the most unhealthy choices because they lack adequate nutritional value, are high in saturated fat and/or added sugar and/or salt and can contribute to excess energy intake. Limit availability of Red food and drinks – a maximum of 20% of food and drinks.
These resources will help you to classify different food and drinks:
- Resource 1: Quick guide to healthy changes
- Resource 2: Commonly supplied food and drink guide
- Resource 3: Quick guide to assessing food and drink
- Resource 4: Red food and drink nutrient criteria
- Resource 5: Reading food labels
See the full list of all Food for Sport resources to help you get started.
Good Sports Healthy Eating Resources
Find resources to help you incorporate healthy food and drink into your organisation on the Good Sports Resources website.