Kids in the kitchen: Taste Trek program highlights

During our Term 2 program, children across our OSHC services have taken part in Taste Trek, a hands-on program designed to build confidence with food, explore healthy choices and connect learning from service, back to home.

Food holds a unique place in children’s lives. It is sensory, joyful and inherently social, making it a powerful tool for learning and connection.

It is no surprise that families consistently tell us food-based experiences are among the most valued in OSHC, with children naturally drawn to opportunities to create, share and discover through food.

Building confidence through hands on learning

Across four weeks, children learnt about food groups, how and where food grows, seasonal produce, healthy choices and how it supports wellbeing, with planting, cooking and tasting activities.

From the beginning, children embraced the program with enthusiasm and creativity. Activities like 'Eat the Rainbow' introduced colourful fruits and vegetables, helping children understand how different foods support their health, while building confidence to try something new.

Using the 'Australian Guide to Healthy Eating', Educators supported a deeper exploration of the five food groups. Through quizzes, group discussions and creative activities like building food pyramids and designing healthy lunch boxes, children built their understanding of balanced eating in a practical and engaging way.

With supermarket catalogues, they carefully cut out pictures of different foods and discussed where each item should be placed on the pyramid.

From kitchen skills to real world connection

Hands-on cooking experiences became a big highlight across many services. Children stepped into the role of chefs, preparing pizzas, dips, bread and desserts while learning about ingredients and making choices about what goes into their food.

As one educator shared,

“children and educators mixed, stirred, weighed and blended their way through the afternoon... best of all, they got to enjoy their tasty creations at the end!"

A strong theme throughout the program was 'Plant to Plate' learning. Children explored where food comes from through gardening, research and cooking, often using ingredients they had grown themselves. This helped build a deeper connection to food and a sense of pride in what they created.

Children planted beetroot, garlic and spring onions, while other children made pumpkin and ricotta ravioli, pesto using basil from the garden, focaccia from scratch using garden-grown rosemary, soup and burritos.