Welcome to the spring edition of the Healthy Together Wodonga eNewsletter.

We hope you're enjoying the lovely weather in the garden and enjoying some fresh spring fruit!

The year is flying by and we have had lots of healthy news from the Wodonga community in the articles below!

Wodonga Middle Years College has received a Healthy Together Wodonga Innovation Grant to implement their ideas for encouraging students to eat healthy and exercise.

The Felltimber campus will host a Community Sports Partnerships Day where organisations from across the region will be invited to promote their sport to students.

The students will have opportunities to interact and become involved with local sporting organisations such as Albury-Wodonga Bandits and their star recruit, Deba George, who will run clinics at the school to improve students’ connectedness to sport.

Felltimber is also undertaking a food trial with their canteen throughout Term 3 giving students the opportunity to try healthy foods including zucchini slice, soup and chicken wraps.

The Huon campus will be hosting ‘Fitness Fridays’ where students will have the opportunity to get involved in physical activity sessions throughout lunchtime.

Local physical activity facilitators will be invited to the college to run sessions including sessions like boxing, Zumba, yoga and karate.

Congratulations to Wodonga Middle Years on being successful in receiving our grant, Healthy Together Wodonga looks forward to hearing how students are enjoying these healthy opportunities.

Anyone who missed out on running the Riverina Endurance Trail Series this year can now have a crack at completing the two Wodonga courses themselves.

Permanent markets have been installed on the 13.8km trail over Huon Hill, and the 18.5km trail over McFarlanes Hill, following a Healthy Together Wodonga Innovation Grant.

The markers were installed ahead of the Riverina Endurance Trail Series race on McFarlanes Hill on Sunday, August 2, which attracted 82 competitors.

Organiser Brendan Murray hoped competitors would return to the hill to challenge themselves again and to become more familiar with the course.

“Also the general public are more likely to take on the adventure into a new area given they have a path to follow,” he said.

“It’s about removing those barriers that stop people from getting out, for example, they fear they will get lost or not know what path to follow.”

Mr Murray said the race was the first time many runners had been to McFarlanes Hill and for some, it was their first trail run.

“Overall the reward for me was having such a great turnout and activating the space which is trail running heaven,” he said.

The final run of the Riverina Endurance Trail Series will be a 30km race over the Albury ranges on Sunday, September 6.

A free phone app has been released by the makers of That Sugar Film to keep track of the amount of sugar you consume.

That Sugar App allows you to find and add products by scanning the barcode of packaged foods or looking up popular items.

It then converts the total sugar in everyday food and beverages to teaspoons and can be added to a daily tally to help monitor your sugar intake.

A personal sugar challenge is also available to help track and moderate how many teaspoons you are having in a day, week or month.

You can then share your progress with friends and family on Facebook and possibly inspire them to take up the sugar challenge as well.

That Sugar App is available for download from your app store, or visit thatsugarfilm.com to find out more.

How can families create healthy lunchboxes?

The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services Pick and Mix 1-6 poster provides a range of ideas and practical tips to inspire families to create healthy school lunchboxes.

The message is simple: For a healthy lunchbox pick and mix, something from each group one to six.

Pick and mix one tasty option from each of the food groups below to create a healthy lunchbox every day:

1. Fruit (for example, fresh, frozen, pureed and canned in natural juice);
2. Vegetables, legumes and beans. Offer different types and colours;
3. Milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives (for example, soy, rice, oat and almond based products with at least 100mg of calcium per 100mL/g). Reduced fat options are best;
4. Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts* and seeds, and legumes/beans (* If your school has a nut-free policy, peanut butter and other nuts should not be included in your child’s lunchbox);
5. Grain (cereal) foods (for example, breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley). Wholegrain and/or high fibre varieties are best;
6. Plain water (for example, tap, spring, mineral, soda and sparkling). Offer water as the drink of choice.

Download and print your free copy of the Pick and Mix 1-6 poster here.

 CSIRO has developed the Healthy Diet Score which assesses the quality of people’s eating habits against the Australian Dietary Guidelines and gives them a rating out of 100.

Sadly, the Australian average score currently hovers just above 60.

The 40,000 surveyed so far failed because they ate too much junk food and also scored poorly for eating insufficient fruits, vegetables and dairy.

We challenge you to try it! Take the test here.

A new study has backed earlier research - even 15 minutes of brisk walking a day has significant health benefits.

Research in recent years has found a little exercise is a lot better than none. In a study of more than 400,000 people in Taiwan, those who did an average 92 minutes a week or 15 minutes per day of moderate exercise like brisk walking had a 14 per cent reduced risk of death compared to those who got no exercise.

Read more at VicWalks here