Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme

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On Monday, April 22nd, the Food Dudes Programme commenced in our school. This is a programme to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school and at home. It is based on positive role models (the Food Dudes characters), repeated tasting and rewards.

It is ultimately designed to enable children to enjoy eating healthy diets, and to create a healthy eating culture within schools.

For 16 days, fresh fruit and vegetables were delivered to the school for every child. Each day the children were rewarded with small prizes for successfully eating the fruit and veg. The children made a great effort to try new foods and develop new tastes. So far they have had bananas, oranges, apples, raisins, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, carrots and sweet peppers. This phase was primarily school based, although children kept a diary of fruit and veg they have eaten at home also.

In Phase 2 of the programme the children were supplied with 2 small lunch boxes for bringing fruit and vegetables to school from home. Parents can promote the healthy eating programme by providing these healthy food for their children each day. It is hoped that this will be continued on an ongoing basis now that the habit has been established.

Overall, the teachers have noticed that there has been a huge increase in the number of pupils in St. Evin's School eating fruit and vegetables for lunch. Many children who had initial difficulty in trying out the fruits and vegetables are now happily eating these healthy foods for lunch.

Who are the Food Dudes?

The Food Dudes are four young super-heroes: Charlie, Tom, Raz and Rocco. By eating their favourite fruit or vegetables, the Food Dudes gain special powers which enable them to save the world and the Life Force from a gang of baddies: The Junk Punks. General Junk and his side-kicks, Miss Demeanour and Master Disaster, are trying to drain the energy of the world by depriving it of nutritious fruit and veg. With their special powers, given to them by carrots, tomatoes, raspberries and broccoli, the Food Dudes feed the Life Force and foil the Junk Punks.

Find out more at www.fooddudes.ie

This programme is managed by Bord Bia and receives financial support from the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and the European Union through the School Fruit Scheme.

Senior Infant pupils have enjoyed eating fruit and vegetables for lunch. They have created some lovely fruit and vegetable prints and have written letters to the Food Dudes.