On the stroke of 10am on Thursday, May 25, around 20 schools in the Southern NSW Local Health District will resonate with the sounds of healthy crunching for a record-breaking attempt involving students around NSW simultaneously eating vegetables.
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The Big Vegie Crunch is part of the Healthy Kids Association Vegetable Week, supported by NSW Health, which runs for the whole school week starting May 22.
Telling children to eat more vegies simply because they’re ‘healthy’ doesn’t work. So the Healthy Kids Association is coordinating the Crunch, with the aim of encouraging children to increase their knowledge of vegetables through greater exposure to them.
According to the recent National Nutrition Survey, while 68 per cent of children eat the recommended serves of fruit every day, only 5.4 per cent are eating enough vegetables.
“It’s fun, interactive school-based campaigns like Vegetable Week and The Big Vegie Crunch that we hope will influence the variety and amount of vegetables children choose to eat,” SNSWLHD health promotion coordinator Emma Woolley said.
“Children might not have access to, or choose to, eat around five serves of vegetables every day, the recommended amount for those aged 4-12. However, the school setting, combined with positive peer pressure, can get children to try different varieties.
“This event may encourage our children to choose healthier food options in their day-to-day life.”
For more information on Vegetable Week and The Big Vegie Crunch, visit http://healthy-kids.com.au/teachers/vegetable-week-the-big-vegie-crunch/
