Plus One Serve: Increasing vegetable consumption during snack breaks among Australian school children

Background

Ninety five per cent of Australian children do not meet recommended vegetable intake. Vegetable consumption is largely confined to the evening meal at home, with limited intake occurring during the school day. Australian children consume only 13% of their total vegetable intake at school, despite schools accounting for 39% of daily energy intake. Given that children attend school five days per week, schools represent a significant yet underutilised opportunity to increase vegetable consumption, support habit formation, and lay the foundations for lifelong healthy eating behaviours.

Many primary schools currently implement fruit and vegetable (F&V) break programs, which typically rely on parents to supply snacks. However, evidence shows that parents are far more likely to provide fruit than vegetables. While free or subsidised F&V provisioning programs have been shown to increase overall consumption, gains are driven primarily by fruit intake rather than vegetables. Limited impact on vegetable consumption has been attributed to children’s low familiarity and liking for vegetables, weak existing consumption habits, and practical challenges such as the need for preparation. Targeted vegetable provisioning strategies are therefore needed, particularly in schools located in lower socio-economic areas, where such approaches may enhance existing food security programs and reduce dietary inequalities.

Aim

The “Plus One Serve: primary schools vegetable provisioning model” project will explore new models of fruit and vegetable provisioning for primary school snack breaks that increase vegetable intake and consider socio economic disparities. A key aim of this project is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of a novel F&V provisioning and education intervention to increase vegetable intake amongst primary school students living in lower socio-economic areas.

Research Methodology

The project comprises several research activities. First, a rapid review following Cochrane Rapid Review recommendations will identify the characteristics and effectiveness of fruit and vegetable provision interventions targeting snack breaks in primary schools. Second, a stakeholder needs assessment involving interviews with Australian experts in school food nutrition will explore barriers and facilitators to vegetable consumption, and gather perspectives on potential vegetable provisioning models and feasible implementation pathways. Third, a single-arm feasibility study will test a multi component, six week intervention in primary schools located in lower socio economic areas of Western Sydney.

This intervention will combine free vegetable and fruit provision for students who don’t bring vegetables or fruit to school, with educational resources designed to encourage children to bring vegetables from home and support educators in building students’ vegetable preferences. Pre–post measures will assess changes in vegetable and fruit intake, and data on acceptability and feasibility will be collected from participating educators. The intervention in the primary school setting will be undertaken in 60 classes from a minimum of 5 schools in the Western Sydney Local Health District to evaluate its feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness on increasing vegetable intake amongst students.

Current status

The systematic literature review (PROSPERO CRD420251148716) and stakeholder interviews are underway.
A research protocol for the 6-week feasibility trial was developed using co-design input from a newly formed Consumer Advisory Group comprising school executives from the target audience and is now under ethical review.