Health and wellbeing
Walsall schools to take part in ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ to get children eating more veg
Published on
Walsall schools are set to participate in a national programme this week (10 March) to encourage healthier eating by incorporating more vegetables into children’s diets.
Eat Them to Defeat Them is an award-winning national programme run by Veg Power, designed to get children to eat more vegetables in a fun and engaging way. Now in its seventh year, it has seen over 1.7 million different children taking part in over 5,000 primary and special schools across the country. The programme is proven to increase vegetable consumption across the UK and support improvements to improve the health of children’s diets.
There are five vegetable themes across the week: carrots, broccoli, red peppers, peas, and sweetcorn. Each school will receive cut-out decorations to display in the dining hall or kitchen hatch to promote vegetable consumption, a variety of posters to inform parents, participation stickers featuring each of the five vegetable themes for every pupil, as well as take-home packs with a reward chart and stickers. Schools and caterers will have access to guides, lesson plans, and online activities to encourage pupils to engage in the week-long programme.
In addition to the ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ programme, Food for Life Walsall (funded by Walsall Council’s Public Health team) will support schools across the borough to ensure they have opportunities to access to good food in their communities.
“ This programme is about everyone coming together to help children eat more vegetables in a fun way.
Incorporating vegetables into a children’s diet helps them to achieve their 5 A Day, gives them energy and increases their fibre, vitamins and mineral intake.
We all have a role to play in creating a positive environment for healthy eating, and there are things we can do, such as mixing vegetables into favourite dishes, encouraging children to try foods without pressure, and leading by example. I look forward to hearing how our schools get on with the programme. “
“ I am pleased that schools will be backing this programme. We know that healthy eating is very important in improving the learning and development of children and we want them to feel encouraged to have a balanced diet so they can learn, thrive and be happy. “
Walsall families can find out more about Eat Them to Defeat Them via Families - Eat Them To Defeat Them.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
- To find out more about Veg Power and their campaigns visit https://vegpower.org.uk/
