Good Food for New Arrivals

Good Food for New Arrivals commenced in 2001 and is a joint project between ASeTTS and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA).

Good Food for New Arrivals aims to improve access to nutrition information available to newly arrived humanitarian and refugee families with young children, as well as enhance the cultural competencies and skills of service providers in understanding and supporting individuals and their families.

Extensive consultation undertaken with the South Sudanese and Afghan communities, health workers and teachers, has resulted in production of culturally appropriate information to assist families in learning more about food in Australia and what types of food to eat for good health.
Many of these resources have been developed using a story format, and can be used in a variety of settings to help newly arrived refugees learn more about issues such as:

iron deficiency anaemia	school lunches
introduction of solids	Vitamin D deficiency
dealing with poor appetite	putting on too much weight

Resources may also be used in English classes to help refugees expand their vocabulary and English language speaking skills.

Bulk purchase of some resources, including the Food Cards is also available (see nutrition order form for details). This website also includes a range of background papers on specific nutrition issues for refugees, cultural food information and food insecurity. A newsletter is also produced on a regular basis.

Training programs using Good Food for New Arrivals resources have been provided in a variety of settings and to a wide range of community groups.

Based on the feedback from these training sessions, an on-line training manual has been developed for use by service providers to enhance their own understanding of nutrition issues as well as developing cultural competencies in their delivery of such information: www.asetts.org.au/nutritiontraining

For more information regarding any aspect of Good Food for New Arrivals, please contact ASeTTS on (08) 9227 2700 or email nutrition@asetts.org.au

Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors
286 Beaufort Street , Perth , Western Australia
Phone: + 61 8 9227 2700; Fax: +61 8 9227 2777
E-mail: reception@asetts.org.au
ABN 83 640 231 835

This website provides information about Good Food For New Arrivals which is funded by the Australian Government's Early Childhood - Invest to Grow Initiative. However, the Australian Government is not responsible for the overall content of the website.