Living life on the veg
A series of educational videos featuring Irish sports stars promoting healthy eating and exercise for school children are now available.
The videos feature Dublin GAA footballer Philly McMahon and world champion boxer Kellie Harrington who have set out to empower primary school children to adopt healthy eating habits while promoting the importance of physical activity.
The videos were created by the National Dairy Council (NDC) and Bord Bia to support the EU School Fruit and Vegetable and Milk schemes.
Supporting the roll out of the new educational videos, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said the positive influences that strong role models can have on our children can make a huge difference.
He said: “Kellie Harrington and Philly McMahon have both achieved amazing successes through hard work and discipline. This new healthy eating initiative follows on from the successful Food Dudes home delivery programme that was put in place for DEIS school children in early January this year.”
During the recent pandemic lockdowns, Irish schoolchildren attending DEIS schools (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) were chosen to receive healthy eating food packs containing fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy.
DEIS is a national programme aimed at addressing the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities.
Each pack contained one weeks’ worth of a child’s recommended daily portions, as well as recipe cards designed to encourage families to learn to cook meals together using the pack’s contents.
In Ireland, the EU School Fruit and Vegetable and Milk schemes are implemented in primary schools under the Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme delivered by Bord Bia, and the Moo Crew Programme delivered by the NDC.
Commenting on the new video series, World Boxing Championship gold medallist Kellie Harrington says a lot of her achievements have been down to discipline and healthy eating.
She said: “There wasn’t much to do when I was younger, so I took up boxing when I was about 14 years of age and it kept me out of trouble. When I joined my local boxing club, it gave me discipline and a plan and set me on the right path.”
All Ireland GAA star Philly McMahon added: “Winning All Ireland titles made me realise that I can help others and I’m really excited to share some of my top tips to help you on and off the pitch. If you work hard and believe in yourself, the possibilities are endless!”
The scheme and accompanying videos will roll out to approximately 110 DEIS schools around the country and are expected to reach 17,500 pupils.
For more information on the resource packs and videos visit fooddudes.ie and moocrew.ie.