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A national survey by YouGov found 21% of primary school children who saw the campaign ate more vegetables, which equates to 1.2 million children nationally (a 290,000 increase compared to 2020 figures).

The survey also found nearly triple the number of children (59%) involved in the schools’ programme ate more veg confirming the positive impact and effectiveness of the campaign in schools.

In addition to increasing veg consumption, there was resounding support for the campaign to return with 84% of children, 90% of parents and 93% of schools stating they would like the campaign back next year.

Dan Parker, chief executive of Veg Power UK, said: “Given the additional challenges and delays due to the pandemic we are thrilled with the impact of our third Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign.

“Not only did we reach more children than ever, our evaluation confirms that children across the country are eating more veg as a result. Due to the effectiveness of the schools programme, we’ve set our targets even higher for 2022 and aiming to reach one million children.”

The plans for Eat Them to Defeat Them 2022 are already underway, returning to its usual spot in the Spring. The TV advertising will commence in late February with the five-week schools programme will run from 28 February to 1 April.

Mr Hamish Clough, head teacher at Stanah Primary School in Lancashire, commented: “This initiative was a clever and effective way of educating our children about the health benefits of eating a balanced diet and in particular vegetables. Our children embraced the daily challenges of finding the different veg around school and the health benefits of each one.

“The school kitchen ensured that each veg was served as part of the school meals and the school cook even shared recipes with the children. It was fantastic to see the children getting so involved and asking parents and carers to find new recipes at home to share on our learning platform, some children even tried some of the vegetables for the first time."