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Grab 5! – Eat More Fruit and Veg
Grab 5! is a project all about encouraging primary school children and their families to eat more fruit and vegetables.
Experts
estimate that if we, as a nation, increase our consumption of fruit and vegetables
from the current average intake of barely three portions a day to at least five,
deaths from heart disease and some cancers could be reduced by up to 30 per
cent. Beyond improving the diets of their children, primary schools that take
on Grab 5! benefit from many other positive outcomes
such as an improved school ethos and environment, participation in school life
by parents and local community groups, and practical and fun learning opportunities
which support curriculum work.
Grab 5! is run by Sustain, the alliance for better
food and farming. It draws on the expertise of a large national working party,
chaired by Joe Harvey of the Health Education Trust and comprising experienced
representatives from organisations across the private, public and voluntary
sectors.
The project
aims to embrace all interested bodies including fruit and vegetable retailers,
producers and processors, caterers, community groups, policy makers, government
departments, researchers and health and education experts.
Over the last two years, the Grab 5! team has been
working with primary schools in Lambeth, Leeds and Plymouth, developing an approach
and a programme of activities that can be adapted by schools nation-wide to
bring real change to children’s eating habits. If an individual school,
a group of schools or organisations such as local Healthy Schools initiatives,
HAZs, EAZs, school catering agency contractors and LEAs, would like to see Grab
5! happening in their area, Sustain can offer support and guidance on
appropriate methodology, materials and motivation.
Methodology
Key to the success of Grab 5! is that participating
schools own the project themselves, establishing an action group of teachers,
governors, parents, caterers, pupils etc. to plan, prepare and implement their
own individual action plan to meet their particular circumstances, needs and
priorities. Equally key to the success of Grab 5!
is that a whole school approach is adopted. This needs not only participation
of all relevant players but also looking at healthy eating in the contexts of
school life as a whole – curricular and exra-curricular, in the classroom,
at break times and lunch times, and before and after school. By adopting a whole
school approach Grab 5! ensures that the messages
being given around healthy eating are consistent and mutually reinforced. Crucial
to the long-term success of the project is the adoption of a food policy that
commits a school to a whole school approach to improving food education and
provision.
Materials
Grab 5! has developed the following materials to
help schools and local partners in their work around promoting fruit and vegetables:
• A pack including:
1. key stage 2 curriculum materials including
a range of posters
2. an action pack giving practical tips
on how to implement Grab 5! and useful contacts
3. a model food policy.
All three elements are downloadable for free from the project website www.grab5.com
and hard copies are available at a cost of £50*.
• Grab 5! branded promotional items, such
as pens, pencils and rulers, for schools to use as rewards
• An identifiable and popular Grab 5! brand
identity
• A website with access to Grab 5! information
and materials at www.grab5.com
• A database of educational materials focusing on fruit and vegetables
and/or healthy eating.
Motivation
In some instances schools are in a position to implement effective and sustainable
Grab 5! projects independent of any outside support.
In the majority of instances, however, it is important to support schools and
instil motivation with:
• A local co-ordinator
• A local steering group, consisting of members from local health, education,
catering and fruit and veg producer bodies, who can support the project, offer
advice and share work and experiences. In particular, Grab
5! works best in a local area when links are made with the local Healthy
Schools Standard. Both initiatives share a whole school approach and work being
done for one complements and supports work being done for the other.
• Training days for schools and all those involved in Grab
5!, providing an opportunity to share ideas and provide inspiration.
Evaluation of Grab 5! has been carried out by the British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group. In November 2002 an evaluation report was completed, together with a Guide of Best Practice. These publications were launched at the national conference, Five a day and more, hosted by Sustain in association with The Grower Magazine on November 25-26.
Most people
know that they should eat more fruit and vegetables but this doesn’t mean
that they do. Grab 5! helps schools tackle the major barriers to fruit and veg
consumption, namely:
• acceptability – people, especially children, think they don’t
like fruit and vegetables
• availability – fruit and vegetables are often not easy to get
hold of, and
• affordability – fruit and veg are often seen as too expensive,
especially when compared to high energy snack foods.
Typical Grab 5! activities include tasting sessions, fruit tuck shops, breakfast
clubs, cooking classes for parents and children, growing clubs, visits to farms
and supermarkets, reward schemes, competitions, chef demonstrations and working
with school caterers. Wherever possible schools provide children with the opportunity
to taste, feel, cook, smell, eat and grow fruit and vegetables.
For more info on Grab 5! or the publications please visit www.grab5.com or call Richard Siddall or Kate Bowie on 020 7837 1228.
* for multiple copies please contact Sustain for price as the cost of postage and packaging becomes proportionally less.
Health
Education Trust
18 High Street / Broom / Alcester / Warwickshire / B50 4HJ
enquiries @HealthEdTrust.com / For
Joe Harvey: het@joeharvey.fsnet.co.uk