Kids vote carrots as favourite vegetable

17th September 2010, 8:58am

A survey of 1,500 children around the UK has proven that it's not all bad news when it comes to kids and vegetables.

On average, children aged 3-11 recognised over 80% of fruit and veg in organic vegbox company Riverford's summer challenge.

The vegetables children were asked to identify included commonly available carrots, potatoes and broccoli, as well as the more unusual kohl rabi, globe artichokes and fennel. Three quarters of children said they eat at least half of the fruit and veg; 4% said they eat them all; and only 5% said they eat less than a quarter of them.

Riverford also quizzed kids on their favourite and least liked fruit and veg. Carrots came out on top, followed by sweetcorn and broccoli. The most disliked veg was Brussels sprouts, then courgettes.

Guy Watson, Riverford founder, said: "We're really encouraged that not all children think milk comes from cartons or tomatoes in tins. With children going back to school and getting into a healthy routine after the holidays, lots of parents will be trying to get them eating vegetables again.

"We've always thought that the more engaged you are with your food, the more likely you are to eat it, so we give out lots of free recipes each week to help people cook, and we encourage customers to visit our farm. These results seem to back up our theory: the children of Riverford customers ate a wider range of 'weird' veg than those of non-customers.

"If you're still struggling with courgettes, see if you can win children over with our Chocolate Courgette Cake recipe that we cook for the children at our local Landscove School; they'll never believe there are vegetables hidden inside."

Related Articles:

• 24 May 2010 - 72% of kids want to grow fruit and veg, says survey

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