Introducing healthy options in your club or facility
Whether you are a sport and recreation club, facility or stadium, or sports participant and spectator there is helpful resources available to increase access to healthier options.
Follow the steps of the in the A Better Choice Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Sport and Recreation Facilities and learn how to provide and promote healthier foods and drinks in your sporting club or facility.
Step 1: Tackle change one goal at a time
Whether you are a local sporting club, council or privately run sports centre or facility, provide catering for a large venue/stadium or for events, or looking for advice to share with your players about fuelling sports performance, there are four key areas to focus your efforts when it comes to providing and promoting healthier foods and drinks in sport.
The 4 key areas are:
- Healthy Drinks: Choose water first, limit unhealthy drinks
- Healthy Snacks: Refuel with fruit and healthier snacks
- Healthier Meals: Green up the menu, add healthier options and limit unhealthy ones
- Beyond the Menu: Feature healthy options in rewards and fundraisers
Work with your team to choose somewhere to start in the areas relevant to your setting and get started today.
Step 2: Work on the targets
If you have made some small changes from step 1 and are keen to really lift your game, aim for these food and drink supply targets to take it to the next level.
The food and drink targets for sport and recreation are detailed below and can be applied to all food provision and promotion at your club, facility or event. Making changes can take time and it is recommended that:
- Small changes are made over time to break up the work and help them become standard practice.
- Changes made are done in consultation with players, spectators, volunteers and staff.
- Progress is monitored and changes celebrated.
The traffic light system
The targets use the traffic light system that classifies food and drink according to their nutritional value.
Green food and drinks are the best options because they are excellent sources of important nutrients, are low in saturated fat, added sugar and/or salt, and help avoid intake of excess energy (kilojoules).
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.
Red food and drinks have limited or no nutritional value, are high in saturated fat and/or added sugar and/or salt and can contribute to excess energy intake.
For retail outlets aim to reach the targets:
- Provide plenty of Green food and drinks – at least 50% of food and drinks from the green category
- Limit availability of Red food and drinks – no more than of 20% of food and drinks from the red category
- the leftover quantity can come from food and drinks in the amber or green categories. Ensuring for drinks no more than 20% are intense artificially or naturally sweetened drinks.
Tools and resources
- A Better Choice Strategy for Sport and Recreation
- Tips for venues or stadiums
- Resources to share with your players or spectators
- Read about how other clubs have made healthy changes