When we returned after Easter Piercestown NS was lucky to be involved in the Award-winning Food Dudes programme – designed to promote and encourage healthy eating. Phase one of the programme proved to be a huge success with all classes getting repeat tastes of both fruit and veg each day to earn stickers, certficates and fabulous rewards such as water bottles and lunchboxes. The children really enjoyed the various days – even when sometimes tasting something which was ‘not their favourite!’

The food dudes programme has been proven to bring about significant change in children’s healthy eating habits and this will be reinforced in the home-based phase 2 which continues now. In phase two the children are encouraged to bring in their own fruit and veg from home and continue to build on habits formed in phase one. Post intervention phase 3 is a more long term ‘maintenance’ approach where we may still partake in our tasting days and children are continuously encouraged to bring in more fruit and veg. This will result in an increased consumption of fruit and veg – allowing the children to develop healthy eating habits for life! We look forward to seeing the children bringing in varieties of fruit and veg – the more exotic the better!!

Many thanks to Mrs. Susan Ryan who co-ordinated this programme for us.