Our Story
HEALTHY KIDS, STRONG COMMUNITIES
Preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes and other nutrition-related illness profoundly affect remote Aboriginal communities. Poor nutrition doesn’t just impact health – it impacts a child’s ability to learn and thrive.
EON Aboriginal Foundation partners with remote communities across Australia to reduce health inequity, by providing access to nutritious food and the knowledge to make healthier choices.
In collaboration with schools and communities, through our Thriving Communities Program, we create edible gardens. More than a source of fresh food, our gardens serve a broader purpose – they are a vehicle for nutrition education and practical life skills. An outdoor classroom. A meeting place. A place of connection.
Our program also provides access to new pathways. From inspiration, to training, employment and business ideas that ultimately drive children’s engagement at school and purpose in the community.
The impact is tangible. Kids are excited to cook with and eat food they grew themselves. They bring recipes and meals from school into their homes. Canteens and community stores swap junk food for healthier options because that’s what the community soon prefers.
This is not a short-term fix. It’s generational change. Working with communities, we’re building healthier children, stronger families and positive futures.
OUR STORY
EON Aboriginal Foundation was founded in 2005 in partnership with Aboriginal leaders, after a landmark study revealed the devastating health challenges facing remote Aboriginal communities. Children were experiencing some of the world’s poorest health outcomes, with high rates of type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, ear infections and malnutrition.
Most health programs had focused on treatment rather than prevention. After listening to community leaders and visiting remote towns across northern Australia, our founder realised a different approach was needed: addressing health before illness takes hold.
From its first edible garden at a school in Djarindjin Lombadina, EON’s Thriving Communities Program grew. The initial focus was simple – to provide fresh, locally grown produce – but quickly evolved. Communities needed more than food; they needed to know how to grow and cook it. Linking nutritious food to better health outcomes became the cornerstone of our model.
Since then, our approach has expanded into more than 45 partnerships with schools and communities across Western Australia and the Northern Territory. With many more communities on our waiting list, we continue to empower communities with the knowledge and tools to take control of their health and build lasting change.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES ON COUNTRY
EON is proudly an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO). This means we are majority led and governed by Aboriginal people and every aspect of our work is shaped by the communities themselves.
Being community-controlled ensures our programs are culturally grounded, locally relevant and designed to meet the real needs of families. Our team brings lived experience, cultural knowledge and strong community connections to every project.
Our programs also create pathways to jobs, skills and enterprise on country. We employ and train local people to help run the programs, giving them paid work that grows confidence while keeping knowledge and capacity in the community. We work closely with local Aboriginal Corporations, schools and families to help break cycles of disengagement and create pathways for young people to step into further education or the workforce with confidence.
The EON Difference
Our practical, hands-on nutrition programs provide children and families with the knowledge and tools to grow, prepare and eat healthy food, building food security and improving health and wellbeing through everyday learning.
Starting in schools, the effect of our early intervention program permeates into homes and communities, creating lasting habits that support better health and wellbeing across generations.
Our program is built for sustained impact, giving communities the time and support to embed knowledge, build capacity and continue the work.
We listen first, build trust and co-create a program that communities own. We only go where we’re invited and collaborate with local leaders, schools and families to ensure our approach is relevant and impactful.
As an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation / ACCO, our work is guided by local cultural knowledge. We work with communities that want to take control of their health and futures, helping them turn their goals into lasting change.
Our edible gardens are more than food – they are spaces of learning, connecting and belonging. They reconnect people to their land and culture, strengthening community.