Plus one serve: Primary schools vegetable provisioning model (HN24008)
Project start date: 24/06/2025
Project completion date: 20/08/2027
Summary:
Vegetable consumption in schools is very low. Where fruit and vegetable break programs exist in schools, parents mainly provide fruit not vegetables. Therefore, increasing vegetable snacking at schools provides a significant opportunity to vegetable consumption to contribute towards an increase of Plus One Serve of vegetable by 2030.
This two-year project aims to evaluate initiatives and explore business models for vegetable provisioning for snack breaks in primary schools that take into account socio-economic inequalities.
Several research activities will be undertaken, partially in parallel:
- A literature review will be undertaken to learn from overseas experiences, and a stakeholder needs assessment will be undertaken to identify opportunities for increasing vegetable intake during snack breaks in schools. Outputs from this include an overview of barriers and facilitators, recommended business models and recommendations for further research on vegetable provisioning in non-disadvantaged schools. A feasibility intervention in disadvantaged schools is part of the project plan.
- An evaluation of disadvantaged schools will be undertaken of a novel intervention consisting of produce provisioning together with newly developed educational resources that aim to increase vegetables brought from home for the snack break. The effect on vegetable consumption, the acceptability of the intervention by participants, and process evaluation data gathered for upscaling recommendations will be assessed. Schools in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage comprise 50% of primary schools nationally, representing over 3000 schools and over 1 million primary school students.
- Dissemination, stakeholder engagement, recommendations for scale up. By collaboratively working with a government partner (Western Sydney Local Health District), this project will provide knowledge and data of behavioral change and systems-based approaches to increase equitable access and availability to vegetables, that takes into account the financial constraints of parents and that is embedded in an existing government-run healthy eating program. Target stakeholders include schools, school communities, health professionals, government, and vegetable provisioning organisations. Results will be disseminated through reports, conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.
Increased vegetable consumption during snack breaks through vegetable provisioning and educational resources would drive immediate demand but also contribute to setting a habit amongst children of eating vegetables as a morning snack, which could be maintained in adulthood.