28 Making healthy lunch information accessible

This resource was created to provide parents and guardians a flexible guideline for packing school lunches. This pamphlet may be provided for all families in a welcome pack prior to their child’s attendance, regardless of when in the term or year this may be. they would receive both physical and digital copies. While this example of the pamphlet is in English, it specifies that if a translated copy is required, this can be requested and easily produced in languages such as Chinese, Indonesian, Spanish and Japanese.

The saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ can easily be applied when considering how to communicate with a diverse audience. Images and infographics are used to “communicate information in the most clear and unbiased manner possible” (Lankow, Ritchie & Crooks, 2012, p. 38). The use of colourful images which directly correlate to the text provides comprehension opportunities for the reader. The document has been carefully designed to ensure it is easy to read, aesthetically pleasing, simple and contains all important information. the white background, colourful frames and bold headings allows the reader to easily read the text and distinguish the topics within the information sheet.

Studies have shown that children who bring lunchboxes to school appear to have a greater nutritional self-efficacy compared to those who do not (Abrahams et al., 2011). However, it is important that educators, parents and children are aware that they are not limited to sandwiches and apples. Parental involvement is essential to authentic inclusion (Owen, 2017), and through open communication the cultural diversity of a community, including cuisine, can be not only accepted but celebrated.