Not only are participating children eating 60% more vegetables than non-participating children, but 60% of parents are reporting a long-term improvement in the volume and variety of vegetables their child eats.
These positive steps towards improving dietary health are of great importance as Veg Power confirms the campaign will be running for its eighth year in March 2026, providing the opportunity for even more children to benefit from it.
According to research 80% of children fall short of the recommended vegetable consumption levels and a third of children are eating less than a portion per day. As many dietary habits are formed in childhood, reaching kids effectively will encourage positive lifelong eating habits.
Across seven years, 1.8 million children from 5,800 schools across the UK have participated in the campaign with 420,000 children from 1,500 primary and special schools participating this year.
Uniquely the campaign brings together a huge alliance including celebrities, supermarkets, chefs, schools, communities and families. This year the campaign was sponsored by supermarket and food brands Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Tilda.
Veg Power’s evaluation, which involved 3,000 parents, found the average consumption of vegetables in children who had participated in Eat Them to Defeat Them multiple times was 3.5 handfuls/day compared to 2.2 handfuls/day for children who had never taken part. The evaluation also found:
- 82% of parents of children who took part said their children ate more vegetables.
- 62% of parents of children who take part said they also ate more vegetables as a result of their child’s new veg eating behaviour at home.
- 60% of parents reported a lasting change in their children’s diet.
- It is universally enjoyed with high levels of people wanting to repeat the experience - 93% of parents, 89% of children and 94% of schools.
Dan Parker, chief executive of Veg Power, said: “We have seen year on year that Eat Them to Defeat Them is having a much-needed positive impact on kids’ veg consumption and that repeated participation leads to long-term improvements in dietary habits.
“This evidence highlights this campaign could play a crucial role in improving children’s dietary habits across the UK and help create lifelong habits to support much-needed change in the health of our nation.
“We hope more children nationwide next year will be able to take part but we need funding to make this happen. With participation in Eat Them to Defeat Them costing approximately 50p per child this is a cost-effective way to make a real impact.”