Child nutrition
School involvement - Fruit + Veg program

Page content: Whole of school activities | Fruit + Veg throughout the term | Fruit + Veg fiesta | Community involvement | Schools, canteens and Fruit and Vegetable retailers | Professional development for teachers

Whole-of-school activities

Involve the whole school in the Fruit + Veg Program. Download a range of ideas for whole-of-school activities (67kb, pdf) that promote healthy eating and reinforce the nutrition concepts taught in the classroom. These ideas include theme days, whole-of-school healthy breakfasts or lunches, canteen competitions, staff health promotion, food at special events, fundraising activities and ways of involving parents.

Fruit + Veg throughout the term

Teachers can select from the comprehensive teachers resources that are provided for lower, middle and upper primary students to plan their own cross-curricular or health-focused unit of work across a term. These plans can be created to suit the individual needs of a class, year group or school. Sample term plans which feature special activities during Fruit + Veg Week are also provided.

Teachers can also conduct the Eat Your Way through Fruit + Veg (495kb, pdf) class activity. Students keep individual records of the fruits and vegetables they eat in a Fruit + Veg diary.

Fruit + Veg fiesta

Schools can nominate the week during Fruit + Veg Term that best suits their school calendar to conduct a Fruit + Veg Week Fiesta (363kb, pdf) .

Community involvement

Community involvement is a significant part of the Fruit + Veg Program. Opportunities are available for Fruit + Veg retailers, local dietitian, health promotion officers and community health centres to form links with schools which support children’s healthy eating.

During Fruit + Veg Week parents can be involved as helpers in cooking activities in the classroom, as volunteers in the canteen preparing fruit and vegetable items, or assistants in a variety of extra-curricular activities that schools may conduct.

Schools can provide parents with some of the Fruit + Veg Recipes by reproducing them in their school newsletter. Choose some of the recipes from the Kids in the Kitchen Cookbook that are suitable for Lower Primary (120kb, pdf) , Middle Primary (322kb, pdf) or Upper Primary (132kb, pdf) aged children. The Fruit + Veg Recipes for 30 (169kb, pdf) can also be used for class groups or school functions.

Schools, canteens and Fruit and Vegetable retailers

As part of the Fruit + Veg program schools work with their canteen so that the healthy eating messages delivered within the classroom are reinforced at lunchtime and school events. Canteens collaborate with teachers and form links with Fruit + Vegetable retailers to offer nutritious menu items featuring vegetables and fruit. For details of school canteens involvement and suitable fruit and vegetable recipes see Canteens.

Professional development for teachers

Schools interested in participating in the Fruit + Veg Program can involve teachers to a regional professional development workshop which will introduce the Fruit + Veg materials and provide ideas as to how schools can implement the program in their school. The Fruit + Veg Kit and supplementary materials will be distributed at this workshop. Teachers interested in attending a regional professional development workshop are asked to fill out an expression of interest form to register their intent.

Expression of interest form (109kb, pdf)

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