Pack Your Parents’ Lunch Day is aimed at starting a conversation within Australian families about selecting smart, fun and healthy choices for lunch, and giving children the power to make those decisions.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics only 6 percent of children and 4.6 percent of adults in NSW meet the recommended National Dietary Guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake.

Jamie Oliver said; “Creating a generation of Fresh Food Kids is something that, as a parent myself, I wholeheartedly stand behind.

“Pack Your Parents’ Lunch Day is all about empowering kids in the kitchen and getting them to understand what it takes to make a healthy lunchbox. It’s about discussing choices, getting stuck in, and inspiring them to take an interest in food as early as possible.”

Woolworths Inverell Store Manager, Kim Fenton said; “We understand the challenge busy families face around packing a nutritious lunch box that kids will actually eat. Pack Your Parents’ Lunch Day is a great way to reverse roles for a morning and empower kids to be involved the decisions around food choices. We look forward to seeing some of the lunches that the kids create on the day.”

A specific day was selected to make it easy for Inverell families to add it to their calendars and to get involved. All parents need to do is to encourage their children to pack their lunch for them on the day. You can also share the kids’ creations via social media using the hashtag #packyourparentslunchday. Jamie Oliver will be reviewing posts made by parents using this hashtag, awarding prizes to the best lunch creations.

Jamie Oliver added; “Get your kids involved in every aspect of food and the whole thing will just come alive for them!

“Let them explore the supermarket, and encourage them to pick the fruit and veg they like – once you’ve sparked their interest, it’s so much easier to get them to try new things and explore different flavours. Plus, learning to make food for other people is a brilliant thing – and what better way than by making a tasty little lunch for a loved one!”

Jamie suggests to Inverell kids that the five food groups, including a variety of dairy, protein, wholegrains as well as a whole rainbow fresh fruit and vegetables are included in the lunchboxes for their parents. Packaged foods can be ok, but foods that are high in salt, sugars and saturated fat are best left out. Jamie’s top five simple tips to get kids excited about food are:

1.       Start them young – investing time when they’re young and impressionable is absolutely key.

2.       Make the time – put aside time to cook and have hands-on time in the kitchen together, even when life is busy.

3.       Start small and build up – little jobs like picking herbs is a great starting point, empowering kids to make decisions as they get more confident.

4.       Keep it simple – it’s much better to cook something quick and simple that keeps their attention, before trying more complicated recipes.

5.       Involve them in other ways – get them to help set the table or jazz up jugs of water with picked herbs or citrus and fill everyone’s glass before a meal.

Pack Your Parents’ Lunch Day is an extension of other Woolworths’ Fresh Food Kids programs, including Free Fruit for Kids, which gives children the chance to eat their favourite, fresh seasonal fruit for free when they visit the supermarket. In the last year alone, over 18 million pieces of free fruit have been given away to kids. Woolworths is also now offering customers bags of mini fruit such as apples, pears, bananas and mandarins, perfect for little hands, for just $2.50 a bag.

Inverell parents can also discover some inspiration on creating a fun and healthy lunchbox for the Day by visiting woolworths.com.au/freshfoodkids