Building wellbeing and belonging from the ground up.
Schools have always been places for learning, but I wanted Wirrigirri to first and foremost be a place for belonging. From the very beginning, our goal was to build a community where care and connection were part of the structure – as visible and essential as the learning communities themselves.
For me, the spark for our School Meals Program came in 2023 at the Victorian Principals Association Conference, where Pasi Sahlberg spoke about equity in Australian education. His presentation challenged leaders to rethink how systems create fairness for children. One of his slides listed “Free School Lunch” among reforms that improve wellbeing and learning. That idea stayed with me.
In 2024, I was lucky enough to be the recipient of the VPA Study Award, this helped me travel to Finland and Sweden with schoolEd Consulting and visit Berrima Public School (NSW) and Mooroopna Park Primary School (VIC). Through my visits, I saw the school meals were part of the learning day, shared, unhurried moments that built community as much as knowledge.
At Berrima, I also connected with the team from The School Food Project, who generously helped us create a detailed kitchen wishlist to ensure that once Wirrigirri’s kitchen was built, we’d be ready to run a program that was practical, efficient, and sustainable. Their guidance, combined with insights from Hayden Beaton and the team at Mooroopna Park Primary, helped shape our early decisions about food service, design, and staffing.
Back in Victoria, we worked closely with the Victorian School Building Authority to include a fully equipped commercial kitchen in our new build. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. We also sought advice from chef and restaurateur Jesse Gerner, who supported us to refine the kitchen layout and think about all the practicalities and logistics of running a kitchen, including staffing.
And then we found Mike.
Mike Galton-Fenzi joined Wirrigirri as our school chef, and from the very beginning, he understood what we were trying to create. He saw that this wasn’t just a meal program, it was an opportunity to build relationships and nurture a sense of community through food. His background in hospitality and his calm, grounded nature have been invaluable in creating a warm and inclusive environment.
What makes Mike exceptional is his empathy. He works alongside students, helping them approach food with curiosity rather than hesitation. He takes time to understand the children and what they like, what they avoid, and how he can gently expand their confidence. For students with sensory or dietary needs, he finds ways to adjust recipes or serving styles so everyone feels included and safe. He knows that for some children, even trying a new food is an act of courage, and he treats that moment with care.
We’ve also worked with the Flinders University School Food Research Project to build what we call a positive mealtime environment: noticing the language we use about food, modelling curiosity and gratitude, and balancing encouragement with autonomy. If a child tries something but doesn’t eat it, that’s okay – there’s always another option. Every student deserves to be well fed, respected, and part of the experience.
Cultural inclusivity has been at the heart of the program. Wirrigirri’s families represent a rich diversity of cultural backgrounds, each with its own beliefs, practices, and ways of preparing and sharing food. Early on, we surveyed families about their children’s food preferences and favourite family meals, and Mike used those insights to shape our first menus. We’ve landed on a two-option menu each day, an approach that supports dietary variety, religious and cultural needs, and inclusion for all.
And while our community may come from many different parts of the world, one thing we all share is food. No matter your background or language, sitting down together for a meal brings people together.
Running the program is a genuine community effort. Education support staff rotate through kitchen duties, assisting with food preparation and clean-up. Parents volunteer when they can, and our Year 5 and 6 students take responsibility for transforming Bial, our gym, into a dining space each day. They set up and pack up tables, clean, and reset the space so it’s ready for learning again in the afternoon.
Teachers also eat with students, modelling positive mealtime behaviours and the language of gratitude, curiosity, and care around food. These moments are social and educational, a chance to strengthen relationships, encourage respect, and support inclusion. Teachers also observe and collect data on which students regularly choose alternate options or show food sensitivities, ensuring we can adapt menus and provide support where needed.
It’s practical, it’s busy, and it’s learning – developing responsibility, teamwork, and care for shared spaces.
Every day, we work with children to ensure they are well fed, even if they might not love that day’s menu item. There’s always something available so no one goes hungry. Overwhelmingly, the feedback from students, staff, and families has been incredibly positive. The only recurring complaint so far has been the lack of chilli in some of the meals, turns out these kids love spice! So it looks like Mike and I will be working on that next!
As The Age recently captured, what’s happening at Wirrigirri each day goes well beyond the meal itself. It’s a small but powerful act of connection that brings students, staff, and families together in ways we never could have imagined at the planning stage.
At Wirrigirri, we believe that learning happens everywhere, in our gardens, our kitchens, and around our tables. When we share a meal, we do not just eat. We connect, we learn, and we belong.
What began as a question about wellbeing and belonging has become part of the fabric of our school, a daily reminder that the way we eat, share, and care for one another is as much a lesson as anything taught in a classroom.
~ Bec