Eat Them to Defeat them returns for its sixth year, to make veg
fun, improve diets and increase children’s intake of vegetables
by chomping away.
Launched earlier this week, the theme of this year’s campaign
‘The Big Chomp’ is calling on children to defeat veg one bite at
a time and boost vegetable intake through a schools’ programme
and advertising campaign.
The award-winning campaign comes from Veg Power, ITV, Channel 4
and Sky Media and is being supported by Welsh Government who is
funding a bilingual school programme for all primary schools
across Wales, reaching over 262,000 children.
Ysgol Santes Tudful, in Merthyr Tydfil, has taken part in this
year’s school programme and pupils have been enjoying cooking
classes, arts & crafts and showing off their chomping skills
in front of a green screen.
Current data suggests a third of children are eating less than
one portion of vegetables a day and 53% of children said they
wanted to eat more vegetables. Veg Power was founded in 2018 to
turn around vegetable consumption in the UK and inspire veggie
loving habits that children can share with their parents and
their own children in the future.
Following previous campaigns, 64% of parents in Wales whose
children participated in the programme lasts year reported their
child ate more vegetables and 73% of parents reported their child
tried new vegetables.
Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, said:
“It is vital we help our children understand the importance of
eating healthy foods and one of the best ways to do this is to
make it fun. Children’s veg intake has decreased over recent
years and this could contribute to poorer health outcomes as they
grow up. This campaign is a fantastic way to promote health
eating and help change behaviours in a fun and positive way.
Education settings are a key part of our Healthy Weight, Healthy
Wales strategy to reduce and prevent obesity. This is why it is
great we have been able to support the schools programme this
year, to help encourage children and their families to eat more
veg and make healthier choices.”
Dan Parker, Chief Executive, Veg Power said:
“Our evaluation has shown that this campaign is having a
much-needed positive impact on children’s diets and we can’t wait
for more children and their families to benefit. We know that
changing behaviour and dietary health in the UK isn’t going to
happen overnight, but we are delighted with the inroads our
campaign and others working in this space have achieved. As
always a massive thank you to everyone who has supported us this
year!”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Notes
- Since it launched in 2019, over 1.5 million different
children from 4,884 primary and special schools have benefited
from the schools’ programme.
