Try for 5

WA Potatoes joined Nutrition Australia to ask Australians to Try for 5

BY GEORGIA THOMAS SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, WA POTATOES

It’s sobering to think only 7% of adults and 5% of children eat the recommended serves of vegetables each day.

Australia’s leading vegetable growers recently joined forces with Nutrition Australia and other health-focused organisations to call on all Australians to ‘get more veg in their life’ by Trying for 5. Try for 5 is an annual campaign by Nutrition Australia during National Nutrition Week (October 10–17) that celebrates vegetables and the important role they can play in our health and wellbeing. Nutrition Australia and WA Potatoes, along with other supporting partners, curated a delicious vegetable recipe hub — a collection of over 100 new forwardthinking veg-recipes from well-known culinary identities, recipe developers and vegetable growers. The activity created a big impact across Australia over 7 days with: · 12,000 website visits · 32,978 website views · 187,561 reach on

Facebook and Instagram · 609 #Tryfor5 hashtags shared over 7 days

Nutrition Australia CEO, Lucinda Hancock explains: “Vegetables are at the very centre of healthy eating. They can safeguard us from chronic health conditions — such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and obesity. We know that, but still, we don’t eat enough. Try for 5 is not about scare-mongering people into eating more vegetables. That simply doesn’t work. It’s about providing everyday Only 7% of Australian adults eat the recommended amount of vegetables each day. Australians with the inspiration to think of vegetables in different ways.” “The last 18 months has highlighted the importance of a vegetable-rich diet for WA Potatoes also achieved some great outcomes: maintaining a healthy lifestyle and improving our mood. AUSVEG is calling on Australian consumers this National · 791 new visitors to the Nutrition Week to find creative ways to www.todatoes.com.au website incorporate more veggies into their daily · Live cooking demo with Emma Rosen diets, which will also support local growers · 6037 Instagram reach via Nutrition who are working tirelessly to supply high

Australia platform quality vegetables from the farm to the · Highest reach and engagement dinner tables of millions of Australians,” compared to other campaign sponsors AUSVEG CEO Michael Coote said.

WA Potatoes Senior Project Manager Georgia Thomas, from Western Australia adds, “We are excited to be part of the Try for 5 campaign and help to bring much-needed encouragement for people to eat more fresh produce. “Research shows that potatoes bring so much to the table with potassium, vitamin C, fibre and even antioxidants — especially in coloured skin varieties. As a grower-funded organisation, WA Potatoes showcases the health benefits of potatoes to our WA audience. Being a part of Try for 5, we hope to extend this reach and give people around Australia the chance to check out the latest recipes, tips and information we have on our website and social media.” WA Potatoes joined Velisha Farms, Perfection Fresh, Butler Market Gardens and Sanitarium Health Food Company as sponsors of this important campaign.

Try for 5 is a call for action. Getting more veg in your life can be as simple as: 1. Adding an extra handful of veg in your meals 2. Trying a new recipe — have a veg only meal once a week 3. Snacking smarter with vegetables.

MORE INFORMATION Check out Try for 5 at www.tryfor5.org.au

Vegetables are at the very centre of healthyeating.

Vegetable intake in Australia

· Only 7% of Australian adults eat the recommended amount of vegetables each day. And only 5% of children aged 2–17 years meet the Australian Dietary Guideline^ . Cooking in lockdown

· Majority of families have reported eating dinner together each night and 1 in 3 Australians say they are cooking more during lockdown*. Alcohol consumption in lockdown

· 1 in 5 Australians reported drinking more alcohol during COVID-19, half having an extra 1–2 drinks a week and 28% having an extra 4–5 drinks a week*. Snacking in lockdown

· 49% of Australians reported in a recent survey that their snack intake had increased during the lockdown*.

^ www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/ people-and-communities/householdimpacts-covid-19-survey/latestrelease * www.sciencedirect.com/science/ article/abs/pii/S0195666321002245

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