Sausage roll filling mixed with apple and vegetable-based dipping sauces are just some of the healthy food that could be on the menu at future local board meetings and events in Papakura.

Sam Lafolua of Healthy Families Manukau, Manurewa-Papakura in partnership with the New Zealand Heart Foundation, has developed a set of food and beverage guidelines with the Papakura Local Board agreeing to test them at a recent citizenship ceremony.

Healthy Families has praised the board’s willingness to give the guidelines a go – demonstrating its leadership in encouraging its community to choose healthier options.

Students from Papakura High School’s hospitality course put the guidelines to the test at a citizenship ceremony in June. This group was responsible for providing refreshments at the special occasion.

The school’s head of hospitality, Diane Corban says the guidelines provide a valuable learning opportunity for students.

“We’ve always like to do things differently so this is great for us.”

“Cooking healthier doesn’t need to be hard or costly,” she says

“We only need to do one thing different such as adding apples and vegetables to sausage roll filling and dipping sauce has vegetables in it.”

Diane says the group is challenging itself to not just meet the guidelines but to better them.

And it’s not just new Kiwis that will enjoy healthier options on their special day, it’s also helping those making the food rethink what they do at home.