While the Food Dudes may be succeeding in getting children to taste vegetables, will they learn to love them? Could it actually be turning some children off vegetables they used to enjoy?īut I had heard directly from some parents about the positive change they had experienced after their children took part in the Food Dudes, with some eating certain previously “hated” fruit and vegetables for the first time. They gave me the daily rundown on what they were tasting: peppers, cucumber, carrots, mangetout, baby corn, apples, strawberries. I had never been a huge fan of the approach taken by the programme, but I resolved to keep an open mind as my two girls embarked on their Food Dudes journey. The Food Dudes logo: The playful logo can’t disguise the limp, dried-out veg. Running since 2007, some 825 primary schools participated in the programme in 2017-18, with 130,000 school children taking part at a budget of more than €3 million. Elizabeth Finnegan, healthy eating programme executive at Bord Bia, said: "Evaluations have shown that it sustains long-term increases in fruit and vegetable uptake."
Over 16 days children taste fruit and vegetables and, in exchange, receive rewards, such as pencils, rubbers and rulers.Īccording to Bord Bia, which runs the programme, it has succeeded in its aim. This is the basis of the Food Dudes programme in primary schools, which aims to get children eating more fruit and vegetables. Tasting is pivotal to encouraging children to have a varied and nutritious diet. My home is no dietary utopia, but my children are decent eaters and have always been taught the importance of tasting new things.
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