9 female participants are currently undertaking a Healthy Lifestyle activity in Gununa, QLD, which focuses on inspiring them to think outside the box when creating healthy meals with fresh local produce.
Already three weeks into their activity, the ladies are showing such promise that they were requested by then Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to cater for the School Attendance Officers (SAOs) training days at Mornington Island State School.
During their training, they have whipped up scrumptious meals for the SAOs, cooking morning teas and lunches that included a variety of different goods such as muffins, damper and sandwiches.
The activity, held at Gununa Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) every weekday, is giving participants the opportunity to refine their culinary skills, including using kitchen utensils and knives, reading recipes, measuring ingredients as well as learning about health and safety in a commercial kitchen environment.
As part of the activity, the participants (pictured below) have visited the local shops with their Jobfind supervisor, Scott, to select affordable produce, which they then incorporate across different dishes.
The classes provide an opportunity to experiment with ingredients the ladies typically cook, such as chicken or meat, turning them into nutritious dishes such as a healthy chicken burger or satay chicken skewers, adding to their recipe repertoire.
The participants are enjoying learning new recipes so much that they are giving their recipes a go at home, sharing their healthy meals with their families.
“This activity will develop the skills of local participants [while] improving their family diets and getting real value for their money,” says Jobfind supervisor, Scott.
The Healthy Lifestyle program, which will run for six months, will potentially extend its activities to catering daily lunches and snacks for participants involved in Jobfind’s other activities on Mornington Island, such as the gardening activity. With participants undertaking hard labour throughout the day, the provision of nutritious meals will give them the energy to complete their tasks to beautify and improve the community landscapes.
The activity has already provided a great outcome for one participant in particular. The lady was referred to paid employment as a cleaner, after just three weeks in the activity, due to the outstanding work ethic she displayed during the course.
