News and Updates

Currently, only six per cent of primary school aged children consume the recommended amount of vegetables.

Using activities shown to improve kids’ willingness to eat vegetables, the free program, Taste & Learn™, provides primary school teachers with simple, hands-on lesson plans aligned with the Australian curriculum. It draws on research that shows what works best with kids is repeatedly offering a variety of vegetables, objectively describing vegetables, and making vegetables fun. 

CSIRO's Dr Astrid Poelman, sensory and consumer scientist, said Taste & Learn was based on research over many years into why we like the foods we like, including vegetables.

Set over five weeks, the Taste & Learn program supports student academic learning by boosting literacy and science skills, amongst others. They learn to describe vegetables in an objective way, such as what their texture, colour or flavour is like, which helps children understand what they like or don't like about the veggies they’re eating.

Dr Poelman and her team co-developed and tested the program with over 1600 students and 116 educators across 25 primary schools in New South Wales and South Australia.

This study demonstrated the efficacy of Taste & Learn to increase students' willingness to eat vegetables.

Primary schools can download the Taste & Learn resources today at research.csiro.au/taste-and-learn and start teaching when ready.

Vegetable Intake Strategic Alliance (VISA)

The Vegetable Intake Strategic Alliance (VISA) is a cross-sector partnership of stakeholders of the health, horticulture and education industries, as part of the broader VegKIT project run by CSIRO, Nutrition Australia & Flinders University. 

The alliance was established to promote knowledge, funding and communication for the increased intake of vegetables in children and their families. VISA sits within the 5-year VegKIT project as 1 of 6 activities, and over the course of the project will present as a unified team of industry professionals who promote and support evidence-based practice for the increased consumption of vegetables in children.

Funded by Hort Innovation, the need for VISA emerged from the low number of vegetable intake in Australian children. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends 2.5 – 5.5 serves of vegetables per day in children aged 2 – 18 years. However, according to the Australian Health Survey 2014 – 15, only 20.2% of 2 – 3-year-old, and less than 5% of 4 – 18-year-old children are meeting these recommendations.

The alliance currently consists of State and Commonwealth governments, research companies, nutrition and health agencies, horticulture industry, retailers, early learning organisations, parenting groups and non-government organisations. Their roles include providing advice and support for existing initiatives, promoting best-practice interventions, and being a channel for evidence to enable advocacy for policy changes in related industries. 

VegKIT and the VISA will continue work until November 2022.

To learn more, visit https://www.vegkit.com.au/vegkit-project/vegetable-intake-strategic-alliance/

Veg Power UK

Veg Power, a UK campaign promoting vegetables, was launched in a bid to encourage kids to eat more healthy foods.

Partnering with Sir John Hegarty & Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the initiative was produced from an advertising competition in response to extensive research and surveys into the market revealing 80% of children in the UK do not eat enough vegetables and only 1.2% of food and drink television advertisements show vegetables. iFour Agency was eventually chosen for their Veg Power pitch. Following this, over £100,000 was crowdfunded in June 2018 from supermarkets, government departments, community groups, chefs, growers, and other invested individuals to help launch.

Working with ITV, Veg Power then launched the national campaign #EatThemToDefeatThem in early 2019.

The campaign urges children to join the fight against the “vegetable invasion”, eating the vegetables to defeat them. It tells a story of angry vegetables overrunning the world, with adults struggling to keep them at bay. It is only with the help of the children that the world can be saved.

To do this, the children must “Eat Them to Defeat Them”.

In addition to the ad campaign, Veg Power have also created ‘The Truly Epic Book of Veg Power’, a guide for parents and kids, with recipes and tips on how to incorporate more vegetables. Contributors of the book include chefs, academics, growers, and food lovers, including Jamie Oliver, The Happy Pear & Dr. Clare Llewellyn.

To follow along with the campaign, visit https://vegpower.org.uk, or follow on social media

Facebook: @VegPowerUK

Instagram: @vegpoweruk

Twitter: @VegPowerUK

Magical Vegetables

Belgium supermarket Ahold Delhaize renamed their vegetables
in a campaign aimed at increasing vegetable consumption.

Called “Magic Vegetables”, the supermarket changed the names of 12 vegetables to more kid-friendly titles, including “orange rockets” for carrots and “clown noses” for tomatoes. Seeking help from local schools, the supermarket asked kids to brainstorm imaginative new names in an effort to excite children and rebrand vegetables they may not like.

“By presenting vegetables in a fun and creative way, Delhaize wants to encourage children to discover less popular tastes easier and faster.", said Tim Lammens, VP of talent, organization, internal communication and sustainability, in a statement. “With a little magic and imagination, Delhaize wants to help parents make their kids happy for vegetables.”

The initiative was in direct response to research finding only 5% of Belgians eat the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables (550g). The lowest scorers were found to be children and young people. Bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms in particular were amongst the lowest consumed vegetables in young people in Belgium, according to a nationwide survey by market research company Statista.

Since its launch in April 2018, Ahold Delhaize found 151% increase in sales, with over 2 million vegetables sold from the campaign in the first 2 weeks.

To learn more about Magical Vegetables, visit https://www.aholddelhaize.com/en, or follow on social media.

Commercial

LinkedIn: @AholdDelhaize

Twitter: @AholdDelhaize

Hort Connections 2020

The Hort Connections 2021 joint industry conference and Trade Show is set to headline at Brisbane Convention Centre on 7-9 June 2021.

Hort Connections is a coming together of horticulture industry professionals, delivered by AUSVEG & PMA Australia-New Zealand Limited (PMA A-NZ). The international event offers presentations by leading experts, trade show exhibits and a networking night, with attendees getting industry insights from guest speakers and a first look at new products and innovations.

After 3 years of successful conferences, with a growth rate of over 94%, the event is set to run in a new Queensland location, having previously been held in Melbourne and Adelaide. The theme of Hort Connections 2021 is ‘Sustaining the Future of Fresh’, with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries a major sponsor of the event. The conference will focus on reviewing on-farm and supply-chain practices, examining consumption trends and discussing future sustainability solutions. Current key speakers include Janine Allis, founder of Boost Juice and executive director of Retail Zoo; Jon Dee, anchor host of Smart Money on Sky News; and Michael Williams, J-Tech Systems general manager.

“Hort Connections conference in Brisbane is being designed to deliver as much value as possible for growers and everyone else in the horticulture supply chain, from presenting world-leading research to offering a huge range of business opportunities on the trade show floor.” Said Nathan McIntyre, AUSVEG National Marketing Manager, in an interview with Good Fruit & Vegetables.

Tickets are still available for the 3 -day conference, with organisers anticipating 3500 attendees for the annual conference’s fourth event.

If you are interested in attending, visit https://hortconnections.com.au/registration/, or connect via social media.

Facebook: @hortconnectionsconference

Instagram: @hortconnections

LinkedIn: @hortconnectionsconference

Twitter: @HortCon_

have a plant campaign

The Have A Plant campaign was launched in April 2019 by US non-profit The Product for Better Health Foundation (PBH) to transform health behaviour in younger generations, promoting the “OG plants”, fruits and vegetables, in a digital campaign.

Research has shown 9 out of 10 Americans don’t meet the recommended guidelines for fruit and veg consumption, even with most knowing the benefits of making these health choices. Have A Plant is a direct response to these statistics, focusing on straightforward campaigning that offers realistic goals and instant gratification rather than long-term rewards.

PBH are a national health organisation dedicated to research, education and campaigning to advocate for healthy consumption of fruit and vegetables in the American population. Founded in 1991, they have with government bodies, industry stakeholders, healthcare professionals and influencers to analyse behaviour trends and improve consumption, first launching the “5-A-Day” program, and then the “Fruits & Veggies - More Matter” campaigns.

In April 2019, PBH conceived the Have A Plant project following extensive research data analysis. Interviewing over 300 consumers and 23 stakeholders, reviewing 100 consumer behaviour studies and analysing 1.2 million social media posts, they found Gen Z and Millennials, the largest demographic in America, are more motivated by online content offering immediate satisfaction. Using this information, PBH have created a pervasive digital campaign, filled with visually pleasing content, exciting posts and language that’s relatable, casual and fun.

The campaign’s main call to action is a Plant A Day Pledge, asking people to consume one more fruit or vegetable each day than they would normally. The project is run through e-newsletters, a website, and social media platforms (the campaign’s Facebook following alone is over 1 million people). Spreading the message with a youthful tone and emphasis on the trend word of the last decade, ‘plants’ (think ‘plant-based, ‘plant-powered’), the campaign is a fresh approach to an age-old health issue of poor health choices and overweight and obesity. With the help of ambassadors, innovators and affiliated industry bodies, the campaign aims to raise funding for further research and education and ultimately, boost consumption and improve health.

To learn more, visit https://fruitsandveggies.org/ or follow the campaign on social media

Facebook: @FruitsandVeggies

Instagram: @fruitsandveggies

LinkedIn: @ProduceforBetterHealthFoundation

Twitter: @Fruits_Veggies

veg it up & get fruity campaigns

Eat Well Tasmania have launched the Veg It Up and Get Fruity campaigns in an effort to increase fruit & vegetable consumption and support Tasmanian farmers.

Partnering with food and agriculture industry, the non-government organisation aims to enhance healthy eating through championing Tasmanian-grown, seasonal produce. Funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania, the campaigns are rolling out a range of practical resources for the community to use to make healthy eating easier and more accessible.

As nearly half of all Australians say their food choices are influenced by what they see on social media, the Veg It Up and Get Fruity messages are shared exclusively through social media and e-resources. Urging people to #vegitup and #getfruity, Eat Well Tasmania ask consumers to share, repost and spread the message of the campaign, with individuals sharing their recipe creations, forwarding posters and discussing their health knowledge on multiple platforms. The campaigns’ posters, recipes and online posts are also being adopted by community organisations and other health promotion programs.

The campaigns also focus on the importance of eating seasonally and locally. With Tasmania offering a wide range of fruit & vegetables, Eat Well Tasmania hope to promote the local farmers and enhance the agriculture community of Tasmania. The benefits of eating seasonally and locally also include less wastage and lower travel length, with current research finding only 22% of all food produced in the state is distributed and eaten within Tasmania, with the further 78% being imported from interstate or overseas.

Both campaigns are live, with fresh and exciting recipes available on their website and media platforms.

To learn more, visit https://www.eatwelltas.org.au or follow along on social media.

Facebook: @eatwelltasmania

Instagram: @eatwelltasmania

Twitter: @eatwelltasmania