The annual ‘Eat Them To Defeat Them’ campaign is being supported by Welsh Government this year and is planned to run from Feb 28th. The initiative is aimed at reception aged children through to key stage 2 and runs for several weeks, focusing on a family favourite vegetable each week.
According to research 89% of children aren’t eating enough vegetables, so non-for-profit organisation VegPower started an annual campaign to change children’s eating habits. In 2019 VegPower launched the inaugural Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign in partnership with ITV.
VegPower takes the unique approach of agreeing with children that vegetables are evil and taking over the world. The campaign encourages children the only way to beat them is to eat them in an attempt to increase vegetable consumption amongst young people.
With the support of over £12m in advertising led by ITV, Channel Four and Sky the campaign has ‘inspired’ children to adopt vegetable loving habits. The Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign has been supported by celebrities including Amanda Holden, Emma Thompson, Ant & Dec, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tom Jones.
In 2021, the campaign reached half a million children across 1,828 primary schools and it’s anticipated that 2022 will bring new record-breaking figures.
A number of resources and fun activities can be downloaded directly from the dedicated Eat Them to Defeat Them website: https://eatthemtodefeatthem.com/
Cllr Ross Whiting, Cabinet Member for Learning commented, “National efforts like ‘Eat Them To Defeat Them’ and the updated school nutrition standards are working to help children eat more fruits and vegetables. I would encourage parents to build upon these efforts at home to help ensure that children have every opportunity for healthy eating everywhere.”
