How to promote fruit and vegetable consumption in schools: a toolkit

Abstract

Schools are a key environment to teach children healthy eating, thus helping them to form long-term positive dietary behaviours. School-based interventions can reach large groups of children of all social classes, and messages learned may be taken home to impact behaviours in the family and elsewhere. As children often consume at least one meal or snack at school, eating healthily in these meals reinforces their healthy eating knowledge and behaviour. This policy toolkit aims to support the EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity 2014-2020, particularly the area for action "Promote healthier environments, especially in schools and pre-schools." This area aims to establish children's health as a priority at schools and has as one of its objectives to increase daily consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.