The project is to assess the level of consumption of fruit and vegetables in school children and their parents and to develop effective strategies to promote adequate consumption levels among school children.

It is nowadays well known that a high intake of fruit and vegetables (F&V) promotes health and contributes to prevention of chronic disease. We also know that the level of consumption of F&V in Europe is highly variable and that the level of consumption by no means reaches the recommended level. This project focuses on F&V intake of children and their parents in ten European countries, what affects the consumption and how to increase consumption. The project especially contributes to exchange of best practice in fruit and vegetable promotion. It will furthermore investigate the determinants of F&V intake from gender, cultural, educational and socio-economical perspective and investigate effective communication and promotion strategies.

The project will build on recent experience from the Pro Children project, which was funded by Commission`s DG Research and finalized in 2006. Pro Greens will perform two surveys and an intervention in ten countries, using the Pro Children methodology. This project effectively twins five former Pro Children participant countries with five non-pro-children member states: Norway/Finland; Sweden/Bulgaria; Portugal/Slovenia; Iceland/Greece; Netherlands/ Germany. CINDI Slovenia, is a partner in a well developed health promotion network, especially important in eastern Europe. One country partner is a governmental body (Bulgaria), another is a retail chain (ICA AB) and a European network of producers (Freshfel).

The strategic mix of partners will provide sustainability, an understanding of collaboration with retail and producers, data on consumption of F&V and best practice for intervening. Pro Greens will also provide a platform for design of school health policies & recommendations.