McKern Foundation’s Fresh Fruit Friday program is growing. The City of Greater Bendigo is funding a trial that adds vegetables to the fresh fruit already delivered to local primary schools. It’s a chance to build on a program that students and teachers already know and love, and help kids get more veggies in their day.
The pilot is a partnership with the City of Greater Bendigo’s Active and Healthy Communities team. It started this term and runs through to the end of Term 1 2027.
Five schools are taking part in the trial, reaching school communities where a big difference can be made:
• Eaglehawk Primary School
• St Peters Primary School
• Lightning Reef Primary School
• Specimen Hill Primary School
• California Gully Primary School
Along with the usual fruit, each delivery now includes easy snacking veggies like carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, capsicum and snow peas. They’re crunchy, colourful and easy for the school kids to enjoy!
The vegetables come from J L King & Co, the same supplier that already provides the fruit. When we asked about adding vegetables, J L King & Co were more than happy to help, and they made the whole process super easy. Their support is a big part of why the trial got going so quickly, and we’re very grateful to have them on board.
Putting vegetables in front of kids is only half the job. Getting them keen to try them matters just as much. So the trial also includes:
• Vegetable fact sheets
• Colouring activities
• Simple recipes students can try at home
These resources help teachers turn veggie time into a fun learning moment, and give families easy ideas to keep the habit going at home.
All five schools will give feedback across both terms. What they tell us will help shape how the program grows in future.
This builds on the independent evaluation of Fresh Fruit Friday that La Trobe University students completed this year, so we keep making decisions based on what’s actually working for schools and students.
We can’t wait to see how the veggies go down. Thank you to the City of Greater Bendigo, J L King & Co and all five school communities for helping make it happen.
