Singleton Primary School students are encouraged to participate in Crunch&Sip daily during class.
Participating in a daily in class Crunch&Sip break provides an opportunity for children to drink water and eat an extra serve of vegetables or fruit to support good health and to help with learning and concentration in the classroom.
Most WA school kids meet the recommended intake for fruit, but only 1 in every 17 are eating enough vegetables every day. By choosing to pack vegetables more often, the daily Crunch & Sip break is a fantastic opportunity to increase vegetable intake.
What to pack for your Crunch&Sip
Allowed
Vegetables
- All fresh vegetables are permitted (e.g. celery, carrot sticks, broccoli bits)
- Vegetables canned in water with no added salt and drained (e.g. corn spears, baby carrots, butter beans)
Fruit
- All fresh fruit (e.g. whole fruits, grapes, mandarin)
- Fruit canned in water, juice or with no added sugar and drained (e.g. peach slices). Don’t forget a spoon!
- Dried fruit like sultanas or apricots are allowed for Crunch&Sip but should be limited. This is because dried fruit tends to cling to teeth and is a concentrated source of sugar, increasing the risk of tooth decay.
Drinks
- A clean, clear water bottle filled with plain water.
Not Allowed
All other food and drinks are not permitted including:
- Any drinks other than plain water including fruit or vegetable juice, fruit juice drink, fruit cordial, mineral waters, carbonated water, water with added vitamins and minerals
- ‘Fruit’ products (e.g. fruit leather, fruit roll-ups, fruit bars or similar)
- Fruit jams, jellies, pies or cakes
- Fruit canned in syrup or jelly or with artificial sweeteners
- Dips, including those that are vegetable-based
- Marinated or processed vegetables (e.g. olives)
- Vegetable or potato crisps, hot potato chips
- Vegetable pastries (pies, pasties, sausage rolls)
- Vegetable cakes, fritters, quiches, breads or similar
- Popcorn
Why send the vegies for Crunch & Sip?
Health
Eating plenty of vegies supports growth and development and reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
Cost
Along with these benefits, vegies are a cost-effective snack to reach for every day. Did you know a serve of carrots or celery sticks costs no more that 30 cents?
Modelling
Do you have a fussy eater at home? Remember, when children see teachers and their peers eating vegies, they are more likely to eat vegies themselves. This makes stopping for a Crunch&Sip break in the classroom a great place for trying new things, so make sure you provide lots of variety.
If Crunch&Sip is new for your family, try some of these tips:
- Start with vegetables your children are more familiar with
- Try sweeter vegetables like red capsicum or cherry tomatoes
- Allow children to choose their Crunch&Sip vegetables
- Keep vegetables fresh at school by storing in thermos containers
- Let kids pick out a special Crunch&Sip container and a good quality water bottle from the supermarket
- Set a good example and show them how much you enjoy eating vegetables and reaching for water too!