Celebrity Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton to Speak to Foster Carers at Local Nutrition Workshop CareSouth, in partnership with William Campbell College and Community Services, is hosting a nutrition workshop for foster carers during Nutrition Week 2010 to encourage healthier food choices for on Wednesday, 13 October, 2010 from 11:00 am to 1:30pm at the Berry Hotel (120 Queen Street Berry).
The workshop is being held to encourage healthier food choices for children in foster care and will feature a talk by celebrity nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton, and a practical cooking demonstration by Matt Watson, head chef and joint owner of the Berry Hotel. Afterwards, foster carers in attendance will be given a chance to ask Dr Stanton questions about healthy cooking and nutrition for the children they care for.
“Children in foster care have many disadvantages and set backs to overcome, we hope this workshop will equip our foster carers to remove one more hurdle by ensuring that they have an opportunity to eat well,” said CareSouth’s CEO, Janenne Wells.
“You can’t underestimate the impact of a child’s diet on their wellbeing and behaviour. Assisting foster carers to provide healthy, balanced nutrition for children in care gives those children the very best chance to grow and develop, fuelled by food that gives them energy and an opportunity to concentrate and learn,” said William Campbell College’s manager Andrew Munro.
According to Rosemary Stanton, poor nutrition amongst Australian children is widespread. “They’re eating more snacks, they’re having more soft drinks, they’re having more fast foods. They’re not eating more fruit, vegetables, meat, bread, milk – any of those basics. It’s all of the extras. The average child has three treats in their lunchbox a day and 93% of kids have a treat in their lunchbox every day,” said Dr Stanton.
Dr Stanton is no stranger to the challenges facing parents, grandparents and foster carers in providing nutritious food. She and her husband have four children and 10 grandchildren, including two foster children on permanent placement.
“I want us all to think more about our food – where it comes from, how to grow or prepare it, how it affects our health and how our choices impinge on climate change,” said Dr Stanton.
Dr Rosemary Stanton is one of Australia’s best known nutritionists. She is the author of many scientific papers and books on food and nutrition, including several for children, and over 3,500 articles for newspapers and magazines. Rosemary was a familiar face on television, as a presenter on Burkes Backyard for 10 years and continues to make frequent media appearances. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to community health. Throughout her career, Rosemary has been especially interested in the health and well being of children. She campaigned relentlessly for over 30 years for changes in school canteens and refuses to retire until governments prevent advertisers from targeting our children.
Matthew Watson is head chef and part owner of the Berry Hotel. An ex-Sydney chef who sought a sea change ten years ago, Mr Watson specializes in cooking fresh flavours and local produce. He was previously head chef for a film catering company, creating specialised culinary delights for film stars such as Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Keanu Reeves and Val Kilmer on the film sets for Mission Impossible II, Moulin Rouge and Red Planet, to name a few.
About CareSouth
CareSouth is a community non-profit organisation, providing support to families, children, young people and people with disabilities. CareSouth has been providing foster care, family support, disability and residential services and the aunties & uncles program in the Shoalhaven since 1994, the Illawarra since 2003 and some services in Queanbeyan since 2009. For more information about becoming a foster carer, please contact 1300 554 260.
For more information about CareSouth, please visit www.caresouth.org.au.
About William Campbell College
William Campbell College has been established to care for abused, neglected and homeless children. As a Designated Agency authorized by the Office of the Children’s Guardian, we care for large sibling groups of children and young people in a rural familytype environment on our farming property on the South Coast of NSW as well as offering
community foster care services for smaller sibling groups and children and young people requiring one-on-one care in the community. For more information about William
Campbell College, please visit http://www.williamcampbellcollege.org/index.html.
About Community Services
Community Services (formerly DoCS) promotes the safety and wellbeing of children and young people and works to build stronger families and communities. We provide child
protection services, parenting support and early intervention, foster care, adoption services and help for communities affected by disaster. For more information about
Community Services, please visit http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/welcome_to_docs_website.html.
Interview Opportunities:
Dr Rosemary Stanton OAM will be speaking from 11am. There will be an opportunity for Rosemary to speak to media between 11:30 and midday.
Janenne Wells, CareSouth CEO and Andrew Munro, William Campbell College manager will also be available for comment.
Media Contact: Jo Munro, PR Manager, CareSouth 0412 999 537.
