The approach to the consumption of fruit and vegetables by children: An evaluation of the food education programme “school fruit”

A number of school-based programmes have shown positive effects on children’s dietary behaviour. Some of these have focused broadly on nutrition, physical activity, and heart health, whilst others have focused more specifically on the consumption of fruit and vegetables. Despite some successes in this field, however, the consumption of fruit and vegetables among adolescents is generally below recommended levels, supporting a need to identify effective strategies for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption, among other healthful dietary patterns. Several states are now implementing programmes in which they provide free fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to students during the school day. This paper aims to analyse what are the determinants of the consumption of fruit and vegetables for children, putting them in relation with the different educational and promotional actions implemented in Italy in the last few years with the European programme "School Fruit”. The objective is to identify information that would be useful for the construction of a model of nutritional education to be implemented through a campaign for the promotion and enhancement of fruit and vegetables. Consumers have forgotten what lies behind every fruit, so starting from the consumption of local products, it is necessary to clarify the significance that fruit and vegetables have in terms of their environmental, social, and ethical aspects. The determinants of the consumption of fruit and vegetables are to be found amongst a wide range of factors: gender, age and socio-economic status; accessibility and availability; composition and habits of the household; individual preferences; knowledge; psychological factors, attitudes, beliefs and perceived barriers. This contribution defines what are the key elements of education programmes and the didactic approach employed, evaluating the overall results and the role of the determinants in the education process to encourage the consumption of fruit and vegetables by children.