Does your sport and recreation facility want to improve access to and promotion of healthy drinks?
VicHealth is supporting local governments to make it easier for participants, coaches, spectators and volunteers to choose water as the drink of choice in canteens/retail food outlets in local sport and active recreation facilities.
Through this grant round, up to 20 local governments will receive funds to trial ‘nudges’ in canteen/retail food outlets which sell packaged sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks. The ‘nudges’ can involve changing the placement, price, product or promotion of packaged drinks to promote water as the drink of choice in local-government-owned sport and recreation facilities.
The focus for this grant is to promote water as the drink of choice, however Councils can also trial a ‘nudge’ to promote healthy food choices which are classified ‘Green’ according to the Victorian Government’s Healthy choices: food and drinks classification guide (DHHS, 2015).
What is a nudge?
A ‘nudge’ is designed to encourage consumers to make healthier choices, by changing the placement, product, pricing or promotion of healthier food and drinks in preference to unhealthy options. For example, sugary ‘red’ drinks are not displayed in drinks’ fridges
Local Governments should apply if:
- you want to make it easier for local communities to choose water as the drink of choice
- you have support to make water the drink of choice from a local sport or recreation club or facility such as a council-run aquatic centre
- you can gather baseline data before starting the ‘nudge’ trial, implement the ‘nudge’ and evaluate outcomes within 3 months of receiving the funds from VicHealth
What is on offer?
What we will fund
Councils can receive up to $5,000 to plan, trial and evaluate a ‘nudge’ in a canteen/retail food outlet which sells packaged SSBs such as soft drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks within a sport and recreation facility.
Local councils with more than one eligible sport and recreation facility can apply for more than one grant up to $5,000 each. Each grant must be submitted individually and will be evaluated separately.
The funding is provided for data collection, implementation expenses and staffing costs incurred to collect baseline data, implement the ‘nudge’ and evaluation, for example:
- Production of artwork for collateral such as posters, stickers, flyers etc
- Reimbursement of staff hours, including data collection, implementation and evaluation of the ‘nudge’