How is VegKIT funded?
This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the vegetable research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
How long will VegKIT run for?
VegKIT is a five-year national project designed to address the significant issue of underconsumption of vegetables in children.
Who is leading the VegKIT project?
This project brings together science and industry with CSIRO, Flinders University and Nutrition Australia working together to deliver an integrated approach to improving vegetable consumption by educating children, training educators and engaging with industry, using evidence-based best practice guidelines. Healthy Kids Association, Perfection Fresh and Thomas Farms Kitchen are involved in the project supporting interventions in canteens and childcare setting.
How are CSIRO, Flinders University and Nutrition Australia working together to meet the goals of VegKIT?
As a consortia, with CSIRO as the lead agency we are bringing together our collective strengths in science, applied research and service delivery to deliver evidence-informed nutrition promotion with real world impact.
Why is VegKIT focused only on increasing the vegetable intake in children? It seems as if all age groups in Australia are not consuming enough vegetables.
Childhood is when a love for vegetables can be fostered. Increasing children’s vegetable intake can also have ripple effects to increase vegetable intake in families.
There seems to be a number of initiatives that focus on improving children's nutrition, how is VegKIT different?
VegKIT is built on an understanding of how children develop preferences for foods. VegKIT also has a wide range of activities that include tools for community usage and community initiatives. It also partners with industry and public health stakeholders.
VegKIT’s goal sounds fantastic - increasing a child's vegetable intake by more than half a serving per day - but how are you going to achieve this?
VegKIT activities will reach a broad range of settings where children eat vegetables and can develop a love of vegetables.
How can VegKIT help me?
VegKIT will deliver free resources for educators, health professionals and research agencies. The resources will include best practice guidelines for designing and implementing initiatives to increase children’s vegetable intake, an online resource registry of evidence-based initiatives that promote vegetable consumption in children, a cross-sector alliance to facilitate collaboration - the Vegetable Intake Strategic Alliance (VISA) - and reliable dietary advice for maternal, infant and early childhood years.
How can I get involved in VegKIT?
The Vegetable Intake Strategic Alliance (VISA) currently consists of a core group of key stakeholders, but there are plans to expand this to a broader VegKIT community. This broader group will be kept informed of activities and resources and have opportunities to become involved in future projects. Please contact us if you are interested in being part of this expanded stakeholder group. We plan that the VegKIT Community will be kept informed of activities and resources.
Can we help you with anything else?
If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us.