Broomehill Primary School to join other WA primary schools for Great Vegie Crunch to promote healthy eating

Crush, crack, crunch. The sounds of students snacking on fresh produce is set to reverberate across the Great Southern this month as the Cancer Council WA seeks to promote healthy eating habits. The Great Vegie Crunch is an annual event held in primary schools across WA where students informally compete to see how loudly they can eat their vegetables. The event has been designed as a fun way for students to increase their daily intake of vegetables. Cancer Council Great Southern regional education officer Bruce Beamish said more than 158,000 students had participated in the event since it started in 2014. He said nearly 500 schools across the State were registered for the organisation’s Crunch&Sip program, which seeks to encourage healthy eating from a young age. “These numbers are really encouraging for what we are trying to achieve, which is to educate children while establishing healthy eating habits for them early in life,” he said. “We know that kids are eating plenty of fruit, but that they are missing out on vital nutrients from vegetables, so The Great Vegie Crunch is an excellent way to show kids they can have fun while eating vegies like carrots and celery.” Broomehill Primary School is one of the schools across the region which will be taking part in this year’s event. School principal Debra Bearcroft said staff and students were looking forward to it. “We think the program is an excellent way to introduce students to the importance of healthy eating practices which has a range of benefits, including improving concentration levels in the classroom,” Ms Bearcroft said. “The children are also keen to try tipping the crunch-o-meter off the scale by crunching as loud as they can with their friends. “What better way to encourage kids to eat these essential foods than participating in fun events with their mates?” Schools are able to choose their dates for the event, with Broomehill set to hold their crunch-a-thon next week. Visit bit.ly/3CG1Ccn.