Welsh Government helping to make children veg chomp-ions

Eat Them to Defeat them returns for its sixth year, to make veg fun, improve diets and increase children’s intake of vegetables by chomping away.

Launched earlier this week, the theme of this year’s campaign ‘The Big Chomp’ is calling on children to defeat veg one bite at a time and boost vegetable intake through a schools’ programme and advertising campaign.

The award-winning campaign comes from Veg Power, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Media and is being supported by Welsh Government who is funding a bilingual school programme for all primary schools across Wales, reaching over 262,000 children.

Ysgol Santes Tudful, in Merthyr Tydfil, has taken part in this year’s school programme and pupils have been enjoying cooking classes, arts & crafts and showing off their chomping skills in front of a green screen.

Current data suggests a third of children are eating less than one portion of vegetables a day and 53% of children said they wanted to eat more vegetables. Veg Power was founded in 2018 to turn around vegetable consumption in the UK and inspire veggie loving habits that children can share with their parents and their own children in the future.

Following previous campaigns, 64% of parents in Wales whose children participated in the programme lasts year reported their child ate more vegetables and 73% of parents reported their child tried new vegetables.

Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Lynne Neagle said:

It is vital we help our children understand the importance of eating healthy foods and one of the best ways to do this is to make it fun. Children’s veg intake has decreased over recent years and this could contribute to poorer health outcomes as they grow up. This campaign is a fantastic way to promote healthy eating and help change behaviours in a fun and positive way.

Education settings are a key part of our Healthy Weight, Healthy Wales strategy to reduce and prevent obesity. This is why it is great we have been able to support the schools programme this year, to help encourage children and their families to eat more veg and make healthier choices.

Dan Parker, Chief Executive, Veg Power said:

Our evaluation has shown that this campaign is having a much-needed positive impact on children’s diets and we can’t wait for more children and their families to benefit. We know that changing behaviour and dietary health in the UK isn’t going to happen overnight, but we are delighted with the inroads our campaign and others working in this space have achieved. As always a massive thank you to everyone who has supported us this year!