Food Dudes FAQ

Teachers FAQ

The Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme is an award winning programme developed by psychologists at Bangor University, Wales to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school at home. It is based on positive role models (the Food Dudes characters), repeated tasting and rewards.
There are two main phases to the programme:

• Phase 1 is an intensive intervention, which lasts 16 consecutive school days.  During this time, fruit and vegetables are delivered to the school, one portion of each per child. They are read a letter and/or watch a specially designed video of the Food Dudes (super-hero characters).
  
  Each day the children are rewarded with small prizes for successfully eating the fruit and vegetables. This phase is primarily school based.

 

• Phase 2 extends the home element of the programme by encouraging children to bring their own fruit and vegetables to school every day in special Food Dudes containers.
  
  Classroom wall charts are used to record progress, and the children receive further rewards upon reaching goals. This phase maintains fruit and vegetable consumption in the longer term.

How effective is the Food Dudes Programme?  

Early studies involving children aged from 2 to 7 years-old, in homes, schools and nurseries, confirmed that use of these principles brings about major and long lasting increases in children’s consumption of fruit and vegetables. The programme was then developed as a stand-alone package that could be administered by primary schools themselves across the full age range of pupils (i.e., 4-11-year-olds),  and it was tested in schools in England, Wales and Ireland.

These trials showed increases in consumption of fruit and vegetables ranging on average from 100-200%, across all children. Consumption increased several hundred percent for the “poorest eaters” (children who initially ate very little fruit and vegetables).

The effects are long-lasting (evident in evaluations conducted up to 18 months after the initial intervention), and they impact upon consumption of fruit and vegetables both at school and at home.  Furthermore, recent research conducted in schools in Wolverhampton has indicated that the Food Dudes programme is also effective in reducing the quantity of ‘unhealthy’ snack foods eaten by children both in school and at home. School meal uptake has also increased in Wolverhampton.

Do all classes in a school participate?

Yes, the Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme is operated as a Whole School Initiative.  

Can any school apply to participate?  

Currently we intend introducing the programme to every primary school in the UK. However, this is contingent on funding being available from year to year. Any school can contact us and express their interest in participating in the programme and we will try to prioritise these schools during our planning process.  

How are schools selected?  

We select schools in blocks of 12-16 schools that are reasonably adjacent to each other to facilitate deliveries of fruit and vegetables before lunch break, and to allow for meaningful project management visits.

If a school cannot participate when offered the programme will it get a chance to participate later?  

We aim to ensure all schools have the opportunity to participate at some stage

What training is provided for teachers?  

All teachers and other school staff will be invited to attend a 1 hour training session, approximately one week before Day 1 of the programme, where they will be fully trained on how the programme operates.

What support is provided to ensure the smooth running of the programme?  

A designated School Food Dudes Co-ordinator will visit the school several times and provide ongoing support to the teachers running the programme.  

Can a school get rewards and videos and implement the programme itself?  

No, it has been proven that the programme works best when implemented as laid out by the Food Dudes Team at Bangor University which includes the provision of fruit and vegetables.  

How time consuming is implementing the programme for teachers?  

The programme takes between 10-30 minutes per day, depending on the age group of the class. It has been designed by Teachers with the hectic teaching schedule in mind.

What fruit & vegetables are provided?  

4 types of fruit and 4 types of vegetables are provided and repeated 4 times over a 16-day period. This is to encourage repeated tasting. The varieties provided to date are: apples, oranges, bananas, pears, cherry tomatoes, raisins, sweet peppers, carrot batons, swede batons, cucumber slices, broccoli florets, and shredded cabbage. This varies depending on availability and seasonality.  

Parents FAQ

How effective is the Food Dudes Programme?

The majority of parents (94%) reported that children ate more portions of fruit and vegetables at home. For more information, please see the Evaluation of the Programme on our website.

My child is allergic to a particular fruit and veg can she/he still participate?

Yes, in this case it is necessary to inform the teacher and to provide from home an alternative fruit/vegetable for that day. Your child will still be eligible to receive a reward for that day if she/he eats both the fruit and vegetable.  

Can I purchase the rewards and implement the Food Dudes Programme at home myself?  

No, this is primarily a school based programme and the rewards are not available for purchase.