Schools confirm success of 2024 ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ campaign

Veg Power has announced results of its schools and catering teams’ evaluation, confirming the success of its 2024 Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign.

This stakeholder research supports findings from a parents and children’s survey and found 89 per cent of those schools surveyed felt children ate more veg due to their participation in the schools’ programme.

In addition, 96 per cent felt their pupils really enjoyed taking part in the schools’ programme and 95 per cent would like the programme to return to their school in 2025.

Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents stated the campaign was being talked about, which is further evidence that the schools’ programme was enjoyed by those participating.

Other key findings that highlight the importance of conducting this type of dietary health initiative included an increased number of children trying school meals and finishing their meals.

Some 74 per cent of those schools and catering teams surveyed stated children were more likely to finish their veg resulting in less food waste, and 55 per cent stated it encouraged more children to try school meals.

The impact of the schools’ programme also led to an improvement in the content of lunch boxes, with 42 per cent reporting an increase in the amount of veg being included.

As part of Eat Them to Defeat Them 2024, each participating school was provided with decorations for the dining hall, a set of fun posters and rolls of stickers to hand out to children acknowledging their veg-eating successes.

To help reinforce the veg-eating habits at home, a reward chart and sticker pack were provided for every child.

Schools were also given a range of digital assets that could be downloaded to suit the activities they were implementing including lesson and assembly plans, numeracy and literacy worksheets and arts and crafts projects.

The materials and resources were well-received by teachers and their pupils with high levels of engagement – 93 per cent used the stickers and 87 per cent used the reward charts.

Parents were also keen to receive these materials to support the home-school link, with teachers commenting that parents were keen to motivate children to eat more vegetables at home by rewarding them.

Feedback from the evaluation also highlighted that schools were able to adapt the campaign to suit their needs with a range of different ideas implemented by teaching and catering staff. These included: class challenges, creating veg superheros, poster competitions, veg-packed recipes for the school newsletter and combining the campaign with an eco week to reduce food waste.

The Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign was created in partnership with ITV, and reached 620,000 kids from 2,375 primary and special schools in 2024 via the schools’ programme.

Over the last six years, through a combination of over £20m of advertising and the schools’ programme, 1.7m children from over 5,000 primary and special schools have benefited from the campaign, with some participating as many as six times.

The campaign moves away from traditional five-a-day messaging to a fun and engaging concept designed for children, uniquely bringing together a huge alliance including celebrities, supermarkets, chefs, schools, communities and families.

This year’s campaign featured a new creative theme ‘The Big Chomp’, with children encouraged to defeat the veg one bite at a time with supporting visuals and fun activities.

Commenting on the Eat Them to Defeat Them schools’ programme, Dan Parker, chief executive of Veg Power, said: “We are thrilled with these evaluation results. Not only are we making much-needed positive steps towards improving children’s dietary health in the UK, children, teachers and catering teams are enjoying the experience and can see the benefit of repeat participation.

“I’ve really enjoyed hearing how schools and catering teams have implemented the campaign this year with heaps of creativity and how repeat participation is leading to greater success. We’d love for all children across the UK to participate in Eat Them to Defeat Them next year.”

 Eat Them to Defeat Them will be returning to schools in 2025 from 10 March. The schools’ programme will focus on a single veg week, but activities will be provided to extend the campaign to the end of term. Schools can register their interest on Veg Power’s partner platform [https://partners.vegpower.org.uk/].

Veg Power is a not-for-profit community interest company on a mission to boost vegetable consumption in the UK.