Our Stories
Food Rocks at Rushworth P-12 College
2 minutes read15 September 2024
Proudly supported by Bank First's Teaching Initiatives Program (TIP), Rushworth P-12 College's Food Rocks program provides a nutritious breakfast, morning tea and lunch to all students at no cost.
Teachers have seen a significant impact on students’ concentration in class and wider community building.
'We want to support our students by ensuring meals are available every day, with the intention of supporting their wellbeing and connection to the school,' said Acting Principal Peter Bovell.
Equity is a key focus of the program. The Food Rocks program means that no student ever has to go without, and students aren’t comparing what's in their lunchbox to their friends'.
'It’s nice because if you don’t have much money for food, you still always have something to eat,' said primary school student Josh.
For parents, Food Rocks reduces their weekly shopping bill and morning to-do list. 'It’s one less thing to worry about and really helps economically. Being a small country town, it’s not always easy for families to do the big shops,' said Peter.
Students interested in food and hospitality work alongside the kitchen team, learning food preparation skills. 'It’s not just about feeding the kids, it’s about life-skills as well. We get a lot of students who are keen to help in the kitchen; they’re developing skills that they can take home,' said teacher Steve Rix.
The next step for Food Rocks is to grow fresh produce on school grounds. Bank First’s TIP grant will enable Rushworth P-12 College to build five wicking beds to grow herbs and vegetables. Given that the school is in a low rainfall area, the wicking beds will help to provide a consistent supply of fresh food for the program.
'The wicking beds mean that we can extend the Food Rocks program with vegetables that can be grown and maintained easily, so that they can be served back to the students,' said Peter.
Providing nutritious meals for students has improved classroom attendance and engagement. 'Our data shows that behaviour has been better after lunch, and there’s less rubbish around the school too,' said Steve.
At Bank First, we’re proud to support initiatives like Food Rocks through our TIP program, giving back to schools looking to do that 'little bit extra' for students. In this case, the 'little bit extra' has had an incredible impact on both student learning and the wider school community.