The website includes recipes, ideas and tips about eating healthy food.

It also features an interactive lunch box builder that helps parents and their kids to plan a healthy lunch box at home, or on the move with their smartphone or tablet.

The website shows Shoalhaven parents how easy it can be to add more fruit and veg and pack a lunch box that kids will love to eat, while encouraging behaviour that has lifelong cancer prevention benefits.

According to the Cancer Council, one in three cancer cases can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating well, being active and maintaining a healthy weight.

Alarmingly, only seven percent of NSW children eat enough vegetables and 22 percent of children are overweight or obese, according to the Cancer Council.

The website was launched as part of Cancer Council NSW’s ‘Eat It To Beat It’ program.

The ‘Eat It To Beat It’ program runs free sessions and workshops across Shoalhaven for parents of primary aged school children, helping them to understand why fruit and vegetables are so important.

‘Eat It To Beat It’ program facilitator, Sarah Pickering, is familiar with the chore of packing healthy school lunches that gets her children are excited about eating.

Sarah has two children, 11-years and 14-years, and was excited when she heard about the launch of the healthy lunch box website.

The mother of two said parents get stuck in the same cycle of packing the same foods each day.

“It has been really challenging the past couple of years trying to find a variety of foods to pack in the lunch box both my children will eat,” Sarah said.

“The healthy lunch box website has been very useful.

“It prompts you to make sure you have all the components from each of the food groups needed for a healthy lunch box and provides plenty of variety within each of the five groups. It helps you think outside the box, gets you more organised and provides a lot of ideas for recipes to try abd I really recommend it.”

Cancer Council NSW Regional Nutrition Project Officer, Kelly Hayes, said parents want quick and easy access to healthy recipes and inspiration on how to vary lunch box content.

“With one child eating about 2,500 lunches throughout their years at school, many parents report that packing lunch boxes can be a chore, especially when it comes to getting kids enthusiastic about healthy options such as fruit and vegetables,” Kelly said.

“Parents want to ensure they are providing their kids with the energy and nutrients they need to learn and play.”

The website was made possible thanks to the ongoing generosity of Outrun Cancer and the community.

Visit healthylunchbox.com.au and pack a tasty healthy lunch box today.