News and Events

5+ A Day launches new interactive education website

Posted on February 16, 2017

A new interactive website makes it even easier for educators to help children learn about healthy eating.

5+ A Day has launched a new website dedicated to its free teaching resources, making them more accessible to educators.

The ‘Growing and Learning with 5+ A Day’ website includes new interactive features. It is also home to the 5+ A Day material currently used in early childhood centres, primary, intermediate and secondary schools nationwide.

104,000 kids to benefit from Fruit in Schools

Posted on February 15, 2017

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says over 104,000 students will benefit from the Fruit in Schools programme as kids settle back into school.

“We're continuing to get overwhelmingly positive feedback from schools about the success of our Fruit in Schools programme," says Dr Coleman.

“This includes schools who've been with the programme since it started and also those who came in last year - they tell us that the healthy eating options are helping their kids in both their work, and also at play.

“It's great to see a programme like Fruit in Schools making a real difference to the health and well-being of Kiwi kids.

“Fruit in Schools complements the Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan. New Zealand is one of the first OECD countries to have a target and a comprehensive plan to tackle childhood obesity.”

This year 543 schools will take part in Fruit in Schools, which sees high quality seasonal fruit and vegetables delivered each week. Up to 24 different types of fruits and vegetables are on the menu throughout the country and more than 20 million servings of produce will be dished up over the year.

Five tips for a healthy school lunch box

Posted on January 24, 2017

Cooking up new ideas for school lunches can be a challenge, but seasonal produce provides lots of variety for a healthy lunch, says 5+ A Day.

Nutrients are vital in helping children concentrate in class and getting them through the school day. Lunch time is when they refuel to boost energy levels, ready to take on the afternoon.

Filling lunch boxes with pre-packaged food that is often high in saturated fat, salt and sugar, can be the easy option. But picking fresh seasonal produce over ready-made means lunch can provide up to one third of a child’s recommended daily intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.

To help maintain kids’ energy levels during the day, lunch should consist of a variety of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, good fats and calcium-rich foods. Getting children involved by asking what they would like for lunch will help increase the likelihood of lunch boxes coming home empty.

5+ A Day announces Julia & Libby as new brand ambassadors

Posted on January 16, 2017

The 5+ A Day Charitable Trust is pleased to announce a new brand ambassador partnership with health and well-being bloggers, Julia & Libby.

In their roles as 5+ A Day Charitable Trust ambassadors, the Kiwi sisters will create recipes using fresh seasonal produce to feature on the 5+ A Day social media platforms. Julia & Libby also have a strong online presence with over 100,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram where they will share 5+ A Day messages.

5+ A Day teams up with New Zealand Football for partnership 2017

Posted on January 16, 2017

The 5+ A Day Charitable Trust is the new partner for New Zealand Football’s nationwide school programme.

Globally, football boasts more than 275 million players and is the number one team sport in New Zealand. 5+ A Day aims to help New Zealand Football continue to boost the number of Kiwi junior players.

Around 64,000 children are currently enrolled in the junior football programme, which operates in over 400 primary schools, and has more than 1,000 coaching staff and volunteers. The programme will now be called 5+ A Day Football In Schools.