national nutrition week 2026 early childhood celebration guide.

Bring National Nutrition Week 2026 to your early childhood service with simple, engaging activities that help children explore food, build curiosity and celebrate the role food plays in our lives.

National Nutrition Week runs from 12–18 October 2026. This year, the National Nutrition Foundation’s Love what you eat campaign celebrates the many ways food connects us to culture, community, place and wellbeing.

Our free Early Childhood Services Celebration Guide is designed to make it easy for educators and services to get involved with children and families.

The guide includes practical ideas and ready-to-use resources to help you plan your National Nutrition Week celebrations, including:

• simple food activities for young children
• ideas for exploring where food comes from
• opportunities to celebrate food, culture and connection
• an interactive activity exploring growing food and composting
• ideas for involving families and your wider service community
• ready-to-use resources to make planning easier

Activities are designed to be flexible, so you can choose what works for your children, educators and service.

Early childhood is a wonderful time for children to explore food through their senses, experiences and relationships with others.

National Nutrition Week can provide an opportunity to talk about where food comes from, discover different foods and traditions, explore growing and composting, and enjoy food experiences together.

You don’t need to plan a big event. Choose an activity from the guide, adapt it to your service and make the celebration your own.