It’s no secret that British children are eating less and less veg. For most, five a day is a far-fetched goal and as many as one in seven four to 11 year olds aren’t even getting a single portion of vegetables each day. When you look at what they are actually eating, a fifth of their veg comes from pizza and baked beans.
Eating more veg is vital for children’s health. Not only is it essential for a healthy diet, reducing the risk of heart diseases, stroke and some cancers, learning to love veg as a child helps establish good eating habits for life. This is why the Sustainable Restaurant Association decided to address this issue by targeting our monthly campaign in May to focus on kids’ menus. In line with the Food Foundation’s Peas Please campaign, we sought to make this shift easier for our restaurant members, to support them in creating change and taking responsibility for their link in the supply chain.
Parents know their kids should be eating more veg but often find it hard to stick to their guns when eating out. We recognise there is a responsibility in the industry to support parents when they’re dining out to make good choices equal the easy choices, because let’s face it, no one wants a fight at the dinner table.
The big challenge here is serving something that kids actually want to eat, we can’t just add some veg and hope for the best. If plonked on the plate as an afterthought, it is likely to end up in the bin, and that’s not good for anyone.
We at the Sustainable Restaurant Association came up with a toolkit for restaurants outlining four principal strategies which have proven successful with some of our members. Principle 1: Make it automatic. Just don’t set it up as a choice and there’s nothing to argue about. Principle 2: Make it appetising. Cooking, serving or presenting vegetables with a twist or bit of imagination, will make them more likely to get eaten. Principle 3: Make it fun. Engaging children with activities while they eat is an easy win, so getting them talking about and interacting with veg can be a great way to get them more interested in eating it. Principle 4: Make it easy for parents. Eliminate the fight and support parents in giving their kids the healthy meal. Every parent wants their child to be healthy, but they also want to make their life easier when eating out.
Menus may be hard to change, so experiment with engagement tactics and using your marketing channels: activity packs, stickers, leaflets/ table talkers and creativity behind your menus. These could be used to engage kids and empower parents. Along with the four principles, we have collaborated with some our members to document the most successful tactics used in creating positive change.
Families are spending more on vegetables to eat at home. But the mushrooming restaurant sector is missing a huge opportunity by failing to provide parents with healthy, vegetable-rich options for their children. Providing and promoting delicious, healthy kids options will help you stand out and attract new customers.
We believe every restaurant that serves children should ensure every child eats two portions of veg, with every meal, in every restaurant. If you agree and would like to read more about how some of our members have achieved this, and to see our June campaign go to thesra.org.
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