Parental Provision and Children’s Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables did not Increase Following the Food Dudes Programme

Purpose - This study is based on previous research which suggests that the Dudes programme increases children’s fruit and vegetable consumption for school provided meals by assessing its effectiveness in increasing the provision and consumption of fruit and vegetables in home-provided meals.

Design/methodology/approach - Two cohorts of children participated from 6 schools in the West Midlands in the UK, one receiving the Food Dudes intervention and a matched control group who did not receive any intervention. Participants were children aged 4-7 years from 6 primary schools, 3 intervention (n=123) and 3 control schools (n=156). Parental provision and consumption of fruit and vegetables was assessed pre-intervention, then 3 and 12 months post-intervention. Consumption was measured across five consecutive days in each school using digital photography.

Findings - No significant increases in parental provision or consumption were found at 3 or 12 months for children in the intervention schools however increases were evident for children in the control group.

Research limitations/implications - Further development of the Food Dudes programme could develop ways of working with parents and children to increase awareness of what constitutes a healthy lunch.

Originality/value - This is the first independent evaluation to assess the influence of the Food Dudes programme on parental provision and children’s consumption of lunchtime fruit and vegetables.