The Melbourne Wholesale Fruit, Vegetable & Flower Market (MMA) and Heart Foundation have joined forces for an exciting new project that aims to increase awareness and consumption of fruit and vegetables across Victoria.  The project is funded by the Victorian Government’s Go for your life strategy.  With 93 per cent of Victorians not meeting their daily vegetable intake and just under half not meeting their daily intake for fruit - there is a clear need for this educational project.

The first of four communication campaigns promoting awareness and consumption of fruit and vegetables was held at:

Breakfast:

Place: La Manna Fresh, Sydney Road, Brunswick, Tue 11 March 2008
Special Guest’s:
- MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Human Services, Telmo Languiller launched the Government funded campaign as part of the ‘Go for your life’ initiative.
-Kate Ceberano will also talk about how she makes her breakfast healthier with a few easy to follow tips!

Lunch:

The second communication campaign named 'The Just add fruit & Veg Forum' was designed for health practitioners to build enthusiasm and help communities eat more fruit and vegetables.

Place: Co-As-It Conference Centre, 189 Faraday Street, Carlton on Tuesday 27 May 2008.
Special Guest's:
- Margaret Miller, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Healthy Weight Project Director, Edith Cowan University (WA), discussed effective planning, implementation and evaluation for successful local fruit and vegetable initiatives.
- Kellie Butler, Community Dietitian based in the North Burnett Health Service District presented information about fruit and veg activities happening in communities in Queensland.

The third stage of the ‘Go for your life’ Just Add Fruit & Veg campaign forum was launched on Thursday 7 August in Castlemaine by Rosemary McKenzie, Research Fellow and Lecturer at the Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics at the University of Melbourne.  The Just Add Fruit & Veg forum “From Global to Local” examined current thinking and action at a global, national and local level in a bid to get Victorians to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Dinner:

Place: The Garden Room, Buda Historic Home and Garden, 42 Hunter Street, Castlemaine

Special Guests:
- Rosemary McKenzie from the Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics at The University of Melbourne (and Premier Brumby s wife) will open this exciting event and launch the Dinner stage of the Just Add Fruit & Veg campaign!
- Chris Rowley, Horticulture Australia Health Initiative Coordinator, will discuss his learning’s from the recent International Fruit & Vegetable Summit in Paris! Focus areas include fruit and veg in obesity prevention, in workplaces and increasing consumption in disadvantaged groups.

Snacks:

The fourth and final stage of the ‘Go for your life’ Just Add Fruit & Veg campaign focusing on ‘Snacks’ was launched today at the building site for the new Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, with Grocon workers showing how easy it is to ‘just add’ fruit and veg to your snacks.

The launch, held during WorkSafe Week, demonstrated how the ‘just add’ message can assist all workers towards better health, simply by adding fruit and veg to their daily snacks – no matter where they are based.

Place:
Grocon construction site at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Edwin Flack Field Melbourne Park Precinct, Batman Avenue, Melbourne VIC 3000

Special Guests: Kathy Bell, Chief Executive Officer of the Heart Foundation, along with speeches by Greg Tweedly Chief Executive of WorkSafe Victoria and Daniel Grollo, Chief Executive Officer of Grocon.

To promote the campaign and spread the message we have posters and recipe tip cards available to download free of charge.  The communication items available include:

Breakfast Materials:
- A3 size fruit & vegetable posters: Fruit - Click Here, Vegetable - Click Here
- A6 size Recipe Tip cards Version 1 - Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here

Lunch Materials:
- A3 size fruit & vegetable posters: Version 1- Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here
- A6 size Recipe Tip cards Version 1 - Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here

Dinner Materials:
- A3 size fruit & vegetable posters: Version 1- Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here
- A6 size Recipe Tip cards Version 1 - Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here

Snack Materials:
- A3 size fruit & vegetable posters: Version 1- Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here
- A6 size Recipe Tip cards Version 1 - Click Here, Version 2 - Click Here