Raising Funds

It is crucial to ensure that sufficient funding is in place before embarking on any further on plans to implement the Programme.

The key costs associated with setting up and running the Food Dudes programme are as follows:

1. Food Dudes materials - (i.e., DVDs, rewards, letters, parents pack, wallcharts) for Phases 1 and 2. All materials need to be printed and delivered to schools in a ready-to-use format.
2. Project management - there needs to be funding for designated Food Dudes Project Managers based in the host country who will facilitate and ensure correct implementation of the Programme in schools.
3. Fruit and vegetable provision - on each of the 16 days of Phase 1 as well as on all days during baseline (at least 4 days), all children need to be provided with a piece of fruit and a portion of vegetables at school. In some countries, these foods may already be available to children in school as part of national provision schemes. In these cases, the Food Dudes programme may be used to complement these existing schemes by boosting consumption of the foods and reinforcing the healthy eating ethos within schools. In countries where fruit and vegetables are not provided to all children, a merit of Food Dudes is that the foods need only be provided for 16- to 20 days.
4. Training and support - from the Bangor Food and Activity Research Unit.

Case Example:

In the Republic of Ireland, the government is funding a full national roll-out of the Food Dudes programme.

The programme currently reaches 85,000 children in 625 schools per year.

The cost of delivering the programme is approximately 26 Euro per child, excluding VAT and provision of fruit and vegetables during Phase 1.

The additional cost of providing fruit and vegetables is 20 Euro per child.