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FIRST FOODS

REAL FOOD FOR POSTPARTUM

When everyone is telling you to reach out for support, First Foods reaches in.

We’re a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting new mothers and their families. At the most nutritionally-demanding time in your life, we offer you nourishing and delicious ready-made meals, delivered to your door at no cost.

The weeks and months after birth can be beautiful. They can also be really hard. When your body is sore, you’re not getting much sleep and you’re spending every moment caring for your new baby, there’s often no time or energy to care for yourself.

But you need and deserve care. All mothers do.

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Thank you to everyone who expressed interest!
EOIs are now closed for our First FoodsTrial.
We are no longer accepting new participants for due dates in September and October 2025. We are so grateful for the response and excited to be supporting a group of incredible mothers on their postpartum journey.

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This trial will allow us to collect important data to measure the impact of this service on postpartum mums.
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First Foods is ready to care for you. We’ll do this by providing:

  • a postpartum preparation pack in pregnancy
  • five days of homemade, nourishing meals and snacks after birth
  • connection to support networks in your community
  • opportunities to learn how to cook nutritious/healthy food with other families

First Foods is your first community as you become a mother. We offer fully-funded, accessible and practical support when you need it most.

WHO ARE WE

There is currently no systemic form of community care for mothers in Australia. First Foods is here to change that.

We have designed the ideal postpartum support system informed by many years of cooking and caring for new mothers in our small communities in Lutruwita/Tasmania. This level of support is considered a luxury but it’s actually a necessity; at the most physically and psychologically vulnerable time in a mother’s life, nourishing food helps her heal and replenish. The positive influences of a supported postpartum are lifelong - both physically and mentally.

First Foods provides new mothers with comfort and care so she can be well nourished as she rests and bonds with her baby.

We provide ready made meals to new parents that are nutritious and delicious. Every meal is made local to you using the freshest seasonal produce to comfort, restore and replenish your body after birth.

We follow four principles when nourishing a new mother:

Warmth —- Meals like soups, broths, stews and casseroles are slow cooked and therefore easily digested which allows the body to focus on healing. In postpartum, warmth is essential for physical healing, nervous system regulation, breastfeeding and the prevention of illness.    Eaten in Comfort —- ideally each meal will be served to the mother in bed or on the lounge. Ready-made meals create a meaningful opportunity for the new mother to rest and bond with her baby, a practice that also benefits birth recovery and breastfeeding and ultimately nurtures maternal confidence. Cooked with Love —- when you respect food, care about where and how it’s grown and who will be eating it, you’re creating comfort food. In postpartum, ready-made meals are the most practical support. They say to the new mother: we see you; you deserve the time and resources to rest and heal; we care about you. Nutrient Dense —- food that is grown, harvested and cooked to retain its nutrients. These foods are rich in protein, iron, iodine, vitamins, fats, zinc and choline; essential for rebuilding strength, healing tissues, replenishing stores and boosting milk supply.

Warmth —- Meals like soups, broths, stews and casseroles are slow cooked and therefore easily digested which allows the body to focus on healing. In postpartum, warmth is essential for physical healing, nervous system regulation, breastfeeding and the prevention of illness.    Eaten in Comfort —- ideally each meal will be served to the mother in bed or on the lounge. Ready-made meals create a meaningful opportunity for the new mother to rest and bond with her baby, a practice that also benefits birth recovery and breastfeeding and ultimately nurtures maternal confidence. Cooked with Love —- when you respect food, care about where and how it’s grown and who will be eating it, you’re creating comfort food. In postpartum, ready-made meals are the most practical support. They say to the new mother: we see you; you deserve the time and resources to rest and heal; we care about you. Nutrient Dense —- food that is grown, harvested and cooked to retain its nutrients. These foods are rich in protein, iron, iodine, vitamins, fats, zinc and choline; essential for rebuilding strength, healing tissues, replenishing stores and boosting milk supply.

Video by Ursula Woods; music by Christopher Coleman

This is where it all began.
Down a quiet road in North West Tasmania, in a quest to design the ideal postpartum support system, we gathered with 20 specialists from diverse fields including: midwives, doulas, researchers, farmers, journalists, mothers, fathers, chefs and psychologists. It was 3 days of planning, workshopping, collaborating, sharing food and documenting ideas. We are so grateful to this passionate group of people who contributed their time and expertise to the foundation of First Foods.

When everyone wants to hold the baby, First Foods will hold the mother.

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