Healthy Tasmania Update - Edition 2 2021

Healthy Tasmania is a Tasmanian Government and community partnership that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all Tasmanians. Healthy Tasmania supports successful community-led and evidence based preventive health activities.

Healthy Tasmania – the next 5 years

The Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan 2016-2021 finished on 30 June 2021.

Over the last five years Healthy Tasmania has established strong partnerships and collaboration across sectors to help Tasmanians live healthier lives. There are many inspiring success stories in local enterprise, social connections and community engagement. The Government has committed funding over five years to the next Healthy Tasmania Plan, which will be released by November this year. Funding has also been committed for community grants through the Healthy Tasmania Fund.

Other key commitments for preventive health include community health and wellbeing networks, youth smoking prevention program, school lunch pilot and education programs.

Planning and consultation for the next phase of Healthy Tasmania is underway and which will build on the strengths and successes of the first phase. There is a large amount of evidence from research, surveys, evaluation, feedback and consultation from the first phase of Healthy Tasmania to inform the priorities, actions and outcomes for the next five years.

Further information about the next phase of Healthy Tasmania will be available soon.

Healthy Tasmania Fund grants announced

Children in water at the side of a pool smiling as they enjoy a learn to swim program funded through Healthy Tasmania. The Honourable Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Health and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing announced the successful Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 applicants on 11 June 2021.

Congratulations to the 26 community organisations and local governments who have received over $2.5 million in total in grant funding to deliver locally driven initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians.

There are 10 small (up to $30 000) and 16 large ($30 000 to $200 000) successful projects focused on:

reducing smoking
improving healthy eating
being more physically active and
improving mental health and wellbeing.

All projects will build community connections.

See www.health.tas.gov.au/healthytasmaniafund for a full list of grant recipients.

Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 1 projects are demonstrating the importance of partnering with community organisations and local government to use local knowledge to develop local solutions. We look forward to bringing all Healthy Tasmania Fund recipients together at our Networking Forum later in 2021. This will be a great chance to learn from other recipients, reflect on how we are capturing project outcomes, and share stories including key successes and challenges. Information about the Networking Forum will be distributed soon.

Food Security 2020 and beyond – Needs Assessment project update

A shopping trolley in the middle of the fruit and vegetable section in a supermarket. There is text over the image which reads: We will ask about what 2020 meant for you and your community around food. Public Health Services is exploring food access issues by collecting ideas and stories from the community. This will help us understand the ways in which Tasmanian people, organisations and businesses creatively responded to the challenges they faced in 2020. The things we learn will help inform policy and practise to create a more resilient and food secure Tasmania into the future.

We will work alongside the Tasmanian community to find solutions. We will be using a number of different ways to collect information. Thank you to everyone who has talked to us so far in stage one of the project (community organisations).

For more project information, including updates for stage two (communities and people) visit Food Security 2020 and beyond – Needs Assessment project.

Let’s Start a Conversation!

Let’s Start a Conversation flyer showing 2 people talking to each other. One person asks, “How are you going with your smoking?”. Poster includes the Quitline Tasmania contact number of 13 7848. The Let’s Start a Conversation campaign is running again this year.

This campaign aims for staff working in the mental health and community sectors to become comfortable talking to their clients or patients about stopping smoking.

Public Health Services is currently looking to recruit workplace Smoke Free Champions. Champions will help raise the profile within their workplace of the role staff can play in supporting people to stop smoking. They will help implement the campaign from June – November and be the go-to contact for their colleagues. And we will support them every step of the way.

Is it you? Or is there someone else in your workplace who you know is passionate about smoking cessation? Contact Eloise.Day@health.tas.gov.au to find out more.

Neighbour Day 2021

Healthy Tasmania partnered with Relationships Australia Tasmania again this year for the Healthy Tasmania Neighbour Day Challenge to encourage people across Tasmania to connect with their neighbours.

Neighbour Day was celebrated on Sunday 28 March with the theme ‘every day is Neighbour Day’. The Challenge encouraged small-scale community events or initiatives to create meaningful social connections to combat loneliness and last beyond the day itself.

Twenty-five Tasmanian communities received grants of $1 000 for their Neighbour Day initiatives.

There was a range of creative and inspiring entries, from garden parties in Sulphur Creek, artistic performances in Marion Bay to a community walking map for Taroona residents. Hosting community events, installing share stations and producing neighbour packs were popular initiatives across the state.

See the full list of projects on the Healthy Tasmania page and keep an eye out on the Healthy Tasmania Portal for their stories!

Collage of two images. The first image shows the Relationships Australia and Neighbour Day banners. The second image shows Healthy Tasmania Project Officer Christy Measham being interviewed by local media, standing in front of Relationships Australia and Neighbour Day banners.

Healthy Tasmania Project Officer Christy Measham at the Neighbour Day Launch

Successful School Lunch pilot program

A daily menu of school lunch meals offered as part of the School Lunch Pilot. The menu has images of healthy food on offer such as soup, fruit and pancakes. Schools in southern Tasmania received funding from Healthy Tasmania and practical support from the Tasmanian School Canteen Association (TSCA) for a one-month cooked lunches trial. The trial was inspired by TSCA’s Julie Dunbabin’s Churchill Scholarship. In 2019, Julie visited seven countries to investigate the impact of school lunch programs on student’s health and wellbeing. In addition, during the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020, some schools activated their canteen to support existing emergency food relief agencies. This showed that school canteens could make bulk meals.

The aim of the pilot was to test the feasibility of offering cooked lunches to students in Tasmania as a way of fostering a positive food culture, improving behaviour and learning outcomes for children. Students had 20 minutes to sit down and eat the meals that were cooked from scratch. These meals used local, seasonal and minimally processed foods by canteen staff and volunteers in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Principals, teachers, parents, students, support staff and volunteers were interviewed or completed questionnaires. All spoke highly of the program with 90 percent of parents saying they would like the school to provide a cooked lunch every day. Canteen staff and volunteers enjoyed making the meals and found the workload was easier than they thought. Students enjoyed the variety of the lunches, trying new foods and eating the same food as everyone else. Two schools reported that students were calmer and that there was an increase in attendance, particularly among children who were often absent from school.

A larger trial would enable a greater understanding of the benefits and challenges of providing school lunches as well as the different ways cooked lunches can be offered throughout Tasmanian schools.

Welcome Winter

Graphic for Eat Well Tasmania’s Winter What’s in Season campaign, displaying seasonal foods such as cauliflower, broccoli, radish, lettuce, fennel, onion, kale, brussels sprouts, lime and walnuts. Healthy Tasmania is a supporter of Eat Well Tasmania’s campaigns Veg it Up and What’s in Season.

You can find delicious recipes, cooking tips and handy seasonal guides via social media by searching @eatwelltasmania on Facebook and Instagram or check out the Eat Well Tasmania website.

Want to discover what's in season in Tasmania and what to do with it? Winter food calls for big, warm flavours and deep, rich colours. The kind found in caramelized vegetables and sauces, slow-cooked stews and Sunday roasts.

Winter means brassica (broccoli, cauliflower, and sprouts) whose crunch we love eaten raw or cooked. The earthy, woody flavour of beets makes us think of bakes (savoury and sweet). And our idea of heaven is a pile of garlic sauteed greens.

Cooking with winter produce is something special; favours are subtle, and the colours vibrant. The earthy red and golden beets make for a beautiful side to a winter roast lamb. The dark greens (kale, silverbeet and collard) are at their peak in winter. The crisp frosty mornings bring out their sweet and rich flavour. And nothing cuts through a plate of slow-cooked vegetates like a squeeze of fresh citrus.

Healthy Tasmania Facebook page

Stacey doing a yoga pose on a rock cliff overlooking Cape Pillar in the distance. Her quote says, “I encourage people to be the best happiest version of themselves at any age!” The Healthy Tasmania Facebook page continues to provide information and strategies to assist people with eating well, being active, reducing smoking, making community connections and supporting their mental health and wellbeing.

During the cooler months, our page has been showcasing some family cooking tips and recipes, school holiday activities and how to keep active in nature.

Facebook followers also had a chance to contribute to the Healthy Tasmania Facebook Autumn banner with their best Autumn photos. These were great submissions from our local followers who have truly inspired us. Check out these and more on our Facebook page.

Check out Stacey and Liam’s inspirational Autumn photo on our Facebook page.

Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge Group is live

The Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge is back and in a new format – a dedicated Facebook Group. Tasmanians can join the group to enter monthly healthy habit Challenges. The group aims to motivate and encourage Tasmanians to form everyday healthy habits by being part of an online virtual community.

The Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge Group had a great start since going live in March with over 115 members now in the group.

For our first Healthy Tasmania Facebook Group Challenge, we asked members to show us and the group how they #vegitup with seasonal vegetables. Members shared their images, healthy recipes, inspiring stories and tips and tricks in the group. It was great to see members not only entered the Challenge, but engaged with each other through showing support, encouragement or giving them ideas to try new things.

Our second Challenge in May focused on being active. We received 45 Challenge entries from group members. The entries showed a variety of ways our members and their family and friends (including four-legged friends) are being active. A favourite entry included a group of women cycling from Devonport to Latrobe for the first time and was a great example of social connection and being active.

Our third Challenge asks members to share their best self-care practices with the group. The Challenge is now live in the group. To participate and join in the group, visit www.facebook.com/groups/healthytasmaniachallenge

Keep up to date with Healthy Tasmania

The Healthy Tasmania Portal is a great way to stay up to date with Healthy Tasmania news, events and online tools and resources. The Portal also features community stories from our grant recipient organisations.

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