School Fruit Scheme in Malta Summary of Evaluation

SFS Participation  SFS has been operational since January 2010  139 of 140 Schools participate (State, Independent, Church)  32,000 pupils  SFS also extended to pupils aged 3-5, thus Target Group is 3-10.

Distribution  Fruit more popular than vegetables, and thus distribution is in the ratio of 3 fruit to 1 vegetable from Scholastic Year  Most produce is locally grown to maintain freshness and minimise food miles  Supply: apples, oranges, orange juice, tangerines, melons, watermelons, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, carrots

Distribution  1 portion per child per week (75g)  Supply delivered by 10:00am latest  Refrigerated Vans

Procurement 3-year contract has been signed covering scholastic years ; ;

Accompanying Measures  Farms visits + hands-on experience  Nutritional Talks  Colouring Books  Kitchen Gardens  Adapted for different age groups

Farm visits… …and Kitchen Gardens

Colouring Books and… …Nutritional Talks

Classroom Chart Competition 3 lunchbox prizes per classroom

Communication  New Poster (with new text)  Leaflet for parents which gives information on the School Fruit Scheme as well as some nutritional information and tips to parents to encourage their children to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables at home

Evaluation Findings  66% parents aware of 5 a day  41% parents take 5 a day  25% children take 5 a day  Children of parents with lower level of education tend to eat less than children of parents with a higher level of education.

Evaluation Findings  66% children who eat fruit and vegetables do so because they know its healthy. This is an indication of awareness and knowledge.

Impacts on Habits  46% of parents noticed increase in consumption at home  50% of parents noticed an increase of consumption at school  Parents who noticed no change said that they taught their children good practices prior to introduction of the scheme

Response from Authorities There was active participation by all stakeholder authorities whenever communication and meetings were effected. Inter-ministerial meetings are held on a monthly basis and comprise:  the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs,  the Ministry for Education and Employment  the Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care College principals, heads of schools and teachers showed a high level of interest and participation in the scheme

Recommendations  Distribution of more fruit which are more popular with the children than vegetables  Focus more on educating parents and children  Creation of representative control groups consisting of teachers, parents, children, who contribute by providing data on the development of the scheme.

 General perception of SFS is positive  The SFS made the children more aware of healthy eating  Accompanying measures were enjoyable and informative Conclusion