Hannah, Sarah & Doeka
17.02.20
We are Hannah, Sarah and Doeka and we are part of one of the co-create alliances in the Netherlands. Our pilot policy idea is that we want to hand out free fruit in the school cafeteria. We want to achieve that kids chose fruit before unhealthy food. We heard from our teacher that you have already done an experiment like this. We would like to know what your experience with this experiment was. Did you have problems or were there things you would have liked to know before you started the experiment. We are wondering how you promoted the project, on Instagram or with flyers? We would like to learn and hear from you.
Dear Hannah, Sarah and Doeka,
Thank you for reaching out!
To answer your question, there is indeed some evidence that distributing free fruit might in schools can lead to increase fruit intake.
At the EU level, there is the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme. As highlighted in the report, “the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables and of milk in the European Union does not meet international or national nutritional recommendations. On the other hand, consumption of processed food, which is often high in added sugar, salt, fat or additives is on the rise. Unhealthy diets, together with low physical activity, results in obesity. This is why the European Union takes action to help children follow a healthy diet and lifestyle.” This scheme combines the distribution of products, educational and information measures.
World Obesity Federation has developed a number of policy dossiers on specific nutrition-related policies, including one on school-based interventions. The dossier flags a number of case studies and government guidelines on the implementation of fruit and vegetable schemes in schools, including:
- The Pro Children Project along with the evaluation of the project itself;
- The School Fruit Scheme strategy for the 2010-2013 school years Lithuania
- The UK School Fruit and Vegetable scheme
Given that many of these strategies include a number of other food products – such as milk – have you considered including additional components in your policy?
Regarding the promotion of the project, this will be very dependent on your target audience. You should consider the age-range of the people you are trying to engage with, what their favourite social media platforms are and where are they most likely to look for the kind of information you would be providing.
We hope this is helpful and remember, #Youth4CC #YouthMatter
