New Year resolutions

Food labelling, childhood obesity, fat and sugar levels, Jamie Oliver’s schools meals campaign, 5-a-day – the nation has never been more aware of the need for healthy eating and we can’t stop talking about the British diet.  Research is now showing that despite good intentions consumers are still finding it hard to eat more fruit and vegetables – they are too busy, find preparation too difficult or laborious, it costs too much or say that their children don’t like it.

Eat in Colour feel that they offer one of the solutions; in early 2007 they launched a campaign to put the pleasure back into eating fruit and veg.  Offering practical advice and information on what there is and what to do with it, the Eat in Colour campaign is a celebration of the wonderful range of fruits and vegetables available to shoppers. Eat in Colour are promoting the message that fruit and vegetables are convenience foods; the website is full of practical solutions to work raw, canned or frozen produce into a balanced diet. One of the strongest messages is about lunch boxes and contains a link to the 5 a day and fruit for schools programme run by the NHS.

The Fruit for Schools scheme continues to grow exponentially.  The aim of the programme as a whole is to provide a different variety of fruit every day for Children to taste and experience.  Whenever possible the scheme will also focus on seasonality moving into UK produce when it is at its best.  200,000 to 300,000 children in each of the 9 regions receive a piece of fruit or veg 5 days a week during the school term, the approved produce list currently includes Apples, Pears, bananas, carrots, cherry tomatoes soft citrus and strawberries – much of it sourced from the UK.

The CLA (Country Land and Business Association) have taken up the message and are campaigning to get everyone to ‘just ask’ where the food on their plate comes from.  They have some strong messages that they want consumers to be passing on to store owners and restaurateurs:

• British Food is better for the environment
• British Food is better for animal welfare
• British food ensures British Farms and local producers have a future and can continue to provide the countryside we all enjoy.

Britons spend more than £58billion in a year on food (that figure doesn’t include takeaways) – a £43 average per household a week.  Of this, fruit and vegetable expenditure amounts to an average of £8  (the same amount is spent on takeaways) whilst the weekly spend on convenience foods, confectionary, sugar/sweeteners, oils and fats comes to £18.  National campaigns are beginning to change attitudes, sales figures from this season show that the message to buy local and seasonal is having a positive effect on the market, the effects of 5 a day and the School’s Fruit and Veg are likely to be seen in the next decade as levels of childhood obesity fall and they become shoppers with a good dietary education.

For more information visit www.eatincolour.com.  www.5aday.nhs.uk