Background

In 2021, Nutrition Australia engaged with food distributors to understand the needs of those working within the settings. From this engagement, it was revealed there was a demand by these settings for manufacturers to classify their products against the state and territory food and drink guidelines.

Nutrition Australia Vic Division is now engaging with nine Victorian distributors to support them in identifying and promote healthier food and drink options to cafes, kiosks and canteens in hospitals and health services, sport and recreation centres and schools in Victoria.

Recruitment

All Victorian food distributors were given equal opportunity to apply for the Distribution Project. Following a robust application process, nine distributors have been selected in two cohorts.

Project scope

Commencing in April 2021, the Distribution Project involved:

• Acquiring a list of the top products sold in Victoria by each distributor.
• Assessing these products against the relevant Victorian nutrition guidelines.
• Selecting eight healthier (Green or Amber) products from each of the top five food and drink categories for hospitals, sport and recreation facilities, and schools to include in the distributors’ product catalogues.
• Providing education to sales representatives
• Supporting with marketing material.

Project success