Recommended Sponsor Painted-Moon.com - Buy Original Artwork Directly from the Artist

Source: MIL-OSI Submissions

Source: Te Pukenga

In April, Ara Institute of Canterbury’s hospitality department held a two-day Food Safety and Nutrition Seminar for South Canterbury school kitchen staff. The training, which was held at Ara’s Timaru campus, fits within the Ministry of Education’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches programme.
Ara’s seminar involved a combination of hands-on sessions in the campus kitchens, and theory covering topics including food safety, kitchen hygiene, food control plans, allergies and dietary requirements, food costing and how to design a menu which meets nutrition guidelines.
Jill Milburn, Ara Bakery Tutor, says, “It was great to meet the school cooks and see what they’re doing. They were very engaged and had lots of questions, so it ended up being a really rich learning experience for everyone involved.”
“The feedback we got is that they absolutely loved it and that they would definitely attend more training.”
Ka Ora, Ka Ako aims to reduce food insecurity by providing access to a nutritious lunch in school every day for around a million New Zealand school kids.
According to the Ministry of Education, by March 2022, over 45 million lunches had been delivered in 921 schools and kura to over 211,000 learners, and 62 million lunches will be delivered by around June of this year.
This Food Safety and Nutrition Seminar was originally developed by Eastern Institute of Technology, another Te Pūkenga subsidiary, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Primary Industries.
Sara Nourozi, Ministry of Education Senior Adviser, says “It has been a great experience collaborating with Ara Institute of Canterbury in Timaru who are experts in food safety and provide upskilling and training in this area. Jill Milburn provided informative and engaging training to staff who make safe and nutritious kai in schools and kura under the Ministry of Education funded Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme.”
“High food safety standards and nutritious kai is key to the success of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme. The Ministry of Education make these training sessions available to any staff making lunches within schools and kura. This ensures they are well supported on this journey and are set up to achieve the best outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi.”
Six school employees attended the seminar, coming from Oceanview Heights School and Mountainview Heights School – both in Timaru – and Arowhenua Māori School in Temuka.
In the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Programme there is no set lunch menu. Instead, schools and suppliers decide what works best for their communities.
To encourage sharing of knowledge and ideas, seminar attendees were invited to share a nutritious recipe that is popular with their students. On day two the participants made sushi and undertook a pH test on the rice, as part of an exercise in food safety. “The Ministry of Education staff took part too!” says Milburn “It was lovely to see them get involved.”

MIL OSI