Eat them to Defeat them! Guernsey’s children are ready to embark on a mission to eat more vegetables

Until Easter, local primary children will be the heroes in the battle against vegetables taking over the world as schools take part in Eat Them To defeat Them: a national campaign run by Veg Power.

The Health Improvement Commission supports local States primary schools across Guernsey and Alderney to take part. This year, 11 schools have signed up to the campaign, which is the highest local participation rate so far.

“Uptake this year has been really encouraging with almost all States primary schools registered to take part in the campaign,” said Cat Tyrrell, Eat Well Project Support Officer at the Health Improvement Commission. 

“We’re supporting schools by providing veg hampers and through supplying Veg Power resources such as stickers and take-home tracker charts so that the fun can continue at home. This year we’ve also been collaborating with local community settings such as the Welfare Service and the Kindred Centre to further support and empower families to take part.”

The campaign runs from 19^th February – 29^th March, during which time over 3,700 pieces of veg will be distributed across the islands. Schools will carry out a number of different activities with the vegetables provided including tasting sessions, cooking, sensory exploration, crafting and much more.

“The concept of the campaign is designed to be fun and engaging for children, while empowering them to take on the role of superheroes to defeat veg,” said Alex Kosmas, Eat Well Lead at the Health Improvement Commission. 

“Having repeated exposure to veg is really important for children to start accepting these foods. The campaign therefore aims to support parents in overcoming barriers around fussiness. By children exploring these foods amongst their peers at school, healthy eating is also normalised in the school environment.”

Thank you goes to out to Milton Produce Ltd. and Channel Seaways for their support in distributing veg boxes across the islands.

For more information about the Eat Them Defeat Them campaign, visit: https://healthimprovement.gg/services/eat-well/veg-power