A healthy diet? Schools have winning solutions

In April, schoolchildren throughout Cologne came face-to-face with Mr Fruitness, the green superhero spearheading the three-year European project “Fruitness enjoy it!”, which is designed to encourage fresh fruit consumption among children in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Sweden.

The fruit-loving champion dropped in on a number of classrooms with the aim of raising children’s awareness about the benefits of a more nutritious and wholesome diet, fighting obesity and promoting a healthier lifestyle.

A personal visit from Mr Fruitness was the first prize in a competition entitled “Fruchtpower für Kölner Grundschulen”, which was targeted at third and fourth-year pupils in 150 primary schools throughout the German city. The purpose of the activity was to inform children about the powers of the superhero in the green leotard and his Fruit Team, which is composed of peaches, nectarines, pears and kiwifruits.

Pupils were invited to let loose their imagination and create a craft product, drawing, cartoon or collage, invent a song or write a poem based on the "100% natural" superhero. They wholeheartedly welcomed this novel challenge and in all, over 100 entries were submitted. Thanks also the precious work of their teachers, the children identified with the green-caped crusader and put forward their personal recipes for a healthier world.

The winning creations were a mixture of the weird and wonderful. Children at GGS Konrad-Adenauer-Straße primary school came up with a series of superheroes inspired by the world of fruit - including “Macedonia Woman", "Banana Girl", "The Apple Spider" and “Pear Man" - whose mission is to help Mr Fruitness do battle with “The Cake Monster” and reduce famine in the world.

The pupils of GGS Nibelungenstraße created a collage illustrating how to make the world a healthier place with the help of fruit, in addition to declaring their commitment to combating global poverty. Meanwhile, pupils at the Katholische Grundschule Langemaß wrote a collective letter to the superhero, in which they listed their favourite fruits.

Over the past few weeks, Mr Fruitness has dropped in on each of the winning classes, where he was welcomed like a true superhero. Some children asked him to dance while others wanted his autograph; all were excited and curious to know more about his superpowers, which are the product of a diet rich in fruit. Mr Fruitness played games with the children and answered their questions by helping them experience fruit with the senses, including smelling, taste and touch.

He awarded each child with fruit (peaches, nectarines, pears and kiwifruits), freebies (Mr Fruitness board game, CD-ROM complete with Mr Fruitness video game, Fruity Faces - the inflatable fruit carrying cases) and a “Fruit Power” certificate, which made lots of youngsters extremely proud.

Furthermore until the end of June, the three winning classes will each receive a twice-weekly delivery of seasonal fruits direct from Italy, bringing fresh taste and goodness straight into the classroom.

“Fruitness enjoy it” is a three-year campaign for the promotion of healthier eating habits, which aims to educate children and raise awareness about fruit and the role it plays in preventing child obesity. Directed at children in the United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, Sweden and Germany, the campaign is financed by the European Commission, Agea (the Agricultural Payment Agency) and CSO, for a combined value of 4 million euros.

It will consist of a targeted and integrated programme of activities dedicated to promoting the consumption of EU fruits, by providing information about their intrinsic characteristics in terms of nutritional quality, safety and health benefits.

For more information visit Fruitness.eu.