Schools on the Isle of Man can take part in a new healthy-eating initiative thanks to health-conscious pupils from Onchan School and local fruit and vegetable retailers, Robinson’s.
‘Fruit for Schools’ is a new initiative to provide fruit snacks to pupils through the creation of healthy tuck shops. It was the School Council members from Onchan School who came up with the idea to provide a healthy tuck shop during break times. The project became reality when the group contacted Robinson’s to see if they could help by providing fresh fruit for the tuck shop.
“The children were really knowledgeable and were keen to tell me how it was good for the school to be able to offer healthy snacks at break times rather than having to bring one from home everyday,” said Katie Mathieson-Nelson from Robinson’s. “The school already had a policy of providing only healthy snacks so the children were aware of the health benefits of eating fruit and veg but it’s great that they want to take it further by offering a healthy tuck shop.”
The tuck shop is run on three mornings each week and is managed by year 5 and 6 children, with help from younger pupils; the group are responsible for the process from beginning to end.
Caley Corkill, the teacher responsible for overseeing Onchan School Council, said: “I am extremely proud of the children. They have been leading this initiative from the outset, coming up with the idea and carrying out the project. There is a huge amount of learning to be gained; as the children are responsible for the day to day running and advertising of the tuck shop. The project offers many learning outcomes for the children and can raise money for school funds.”
Katie and Paul Caisley from Robinson’s visited the school and to the delight of the pupils they were joined by their fruit mascots. Following the success of the project at Onchan School, they would like to see other schools on the Isle of Man become involved with the ‘Fruit for Schools’ initiative.
Katie said: “We were so thrilled to be part of Onchan School’s healthy tuck shop idea that we decided to launch ‘Fruit for Schools’ as part of our 130th anniversary celebrations. It’s such a fabulous way to promote healthy eating. It’s also a great opportunity for any school to become involved and we now hope to give other schools the chance to set up their own fruit stall or tuck shop.”
Schools who are interested in taking part in ‘Fruit for Schools’ from September 2016 should contact Katie by email at katieh@robinsons.im
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