Pick of the Crop 2027-28 expansion to Far North Queensland

⁠⁠⁠Overview

Health and Wellbeing Queensland (HWQld) is seeking to engage one or more Implementation Partners under a two-year agreement to support delivery of the Pick of the Crop (POTC) program across Far North Queensland's Department of Education (DoE) regions.

About

HWQld is Queensland's dedicated prevention agency established to prevent chronic disease and improve health equity, with a focus on healthy eating, physical activity and obesity.

HWQld has committed to implementing a whole-school healthy eating program in all state primary schools across Queensland to increase children's vegetable and fruit consumption. Pick of the Crop (POTC) is a whole school, multi-strategic, evidence-based healthy eating initiative developed by HWQld. It is flexible and designed by schools to focus on their unique community needs and school environment.

Implementation of POTC regionally involves funding provided to local organisations (called Implementation Partners) under a negotiated Service Agreement with defined performance measures and contract deliverables.

Objectives

Key aims of POTC

• All Queensland primary school students develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills to make healthy food choices through quality learning experiences, reinforced by supportive environments at school and at home
• All Queensland primary school educators have the capability and resources to deliver quality nutrition education learning experiences consistent with, and integrated across, the school curriculum
• Build capacity and capability of communities to support schools to increase students' intake of vegetables and fruit

Key objectives for schools (aligned with the World Health Organisation's Health Promoting Schools framework)

• Teaching and Learning: integrate food and nutrition education into the curriculum so students gain knowledge, skills and experiences that promote greater consumption of vegetables and fruit
• Healthy School Environments: provide opportunities for students to access vegetables and fruit by incorporating them into the school tuckshop, breakfast clubs, brain breaks, tasting activities and school gardens
• Grower and Community Connections: strengthen connections with growers and producers (from Paddock to Plate) and implement engagement strategies with the community, families, parents and beyond

Scope

The scope includes:

• Recruitment, onboarding and support of a Regional Coordinator
• School engagement, recruitment and relationship management activities to achieve school participation targets
• Supporting at least 15 new schools per DoE region each year to develop and implement School Action Plans and approval processes
• Supporting schools to apply for grants administered by HWQld and meet associated reporting requirements
• Facilitating access to POTC resources, professional learning opportunities and implementation support
• Coordinating stakeholder engagement and regional partnerships that strengthen POTC delivery
• Providing ongoing support to participating schools to embed and sustain locally run activities
• Collecting required data and contributing to monitoring, evaluation and reporting activities
• Preparing implementation insights and lessons learned to inform ongoing POTC development and continuous improvement
• Networking with other POTC coordinators across the state, working in partnership and collaboration
• Managing a Regional Coordinator who acts as the primary point of contact for participating schools and stakeholders and supports the successful implementation, growth and sustainability of POTC across the region and state

Contract Terms and Conditions

• Engagement is for a two-year agreement to support delivery of POTC across Far North Queensland's DoE regions
• Delivery will be governed by a negotiated Service Agreement with defined performance measures and contract deliverables

Instructions to Tenderers

For more detailed information, please see the attached Request for Quote Information Document and supporting material.