Now in its seventh year, the campaign has been proven to increase children’s vegetable consumption and will build on the behaviour change success achieved in previous years. The campaign was launched in 2019 to help increase the UK’s poor vegetable consumption.
Veg Power is a not-for-profit community interest company on a mission to turn around vegetable consumption in the UK. Over 80% of children are not eating enough vegetables, with a third eating less than one portion a day.
According to the National Food Strategy poor dietary health is known to have a negative impact on many aspects of children’s health but the impact lasts into adulthood resulting in increased healthcare costs and reduced productivity.
The Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign ‘inspires’ children to eat more veg in school and to continue that behaviour at home. It brings together a huge alliance including celebrities, supermarkets, chefs, schools, communities and families.
Over the last six years, over 1.5 million different children from over 5,000 primary and special schools have benefited from participation in the schools’ programme. This year, 400,000 children across the UK are expected to participate.
Resources will be supplied for five veg-themed days (carrots, broccoli, red peppers, peas and sweetcorn) that the school catering teams can implement at any time.
Dan Parker, chief executive of Veg Power, said: “We’re delighted with the impact that our schools’ programme is having on children’s veg eating habits and that it is also leading to behaviour change within the family unit - with parents and siblings also benefiting from increased vegetable consumption.
“This is so important because not only will it mean that we’re having a positive impact on dietary health but we’re helping to form veg eating habits in childhood that as the research shows are likely to be continued into adulthood.”