Introducing Crunch and Sip

Our Fruit Break, the Crunch&Sip program, is an easy way to help kids stay healthy and happy!

Crunch&Sip is a set break to eat fruit or salad vegetables and drink water in the classroom. Students energise with fruit or vegetables during the morning, assisting physical and mental performance and concentration in the classroom. This gives our students a chance to refuel, a bit like putting petrol in a car.

Each day students bring fruit or salad vegetables to school to eat in the classroom at a set time. Each child has a small clear bottle of water in the classroom to drink throughout the day to prevent dehydration. The Crunch&Sip break gives children the opportunity to eat the piece of fruit that might otherwise be left in their lunchbox or not be eaten at all.

The objectives of the Crunch&Sip  break are to:

• increase awareness of the importance of eating fruit or vegetables and drinking water every day
• enable students, teachers and staff to eat fruit or vegetables during an allocated Crunch&Sip  break in the classroom
• encourage students, teachers and staff to drink water throughout the day in the classroom, during break times and at sports, excursions and camps
• encourage parents to provide students with fruit or vegetables every day
• develop strategies to help students who don't have regular access to fruit and vegetables

Permitted Foods

CRUNCH: ALLOWED

Fruit

• All fresh fruit is permitted (e.g. whole fruits such as a banana or a small apple, chopped melon)
• Fruit canned in water, juice or no added sugar is permitted (e.g. peach slices).  Don't forget a spoon!
• Fruit canned with artificial sweeteners added is not permitted. Artificial sweeteners are not recommended for children
• Dried fruit is permitted, although, fresh fruit or vegetables is the first choice because dried fruit contains high concentration of natural sugar and it tends to cling to teeth, increasing risk of tooth decay (e.g. sultanas)

Vegetables

• All fresh vegetables are permitted (e.g. celery, carrot sticks, broccoli bits etc.)

Don't forget

• To wash all fruit and vegetables before eating
• Easy-to-eat fruit and veg is best
• Buying fruit and vegetables in season is cheaper and tastes better
• Students should wash their hands before eating

NOT ALLOWED

All other foods are not permitted including:

• 'Fruit' products (e.g. fruit leather, fruit roll-ups, fruit bars or similar)
• Fruit jams or jellies
• Fruit pies or cakes
• Fruit canned in syrup or jelly or with artificial sweeteners
• Canned or processed vegetables
• Vegetable or potato crisps, hot potato chips, olives
• Vegetable pastries (pies, pasties, sausage rolls)
• Baked vegetable breads
• Vegetable cakes, fritters, quiches or similar
• Popcorn

AND SIP: ALLOWED

• A clean, clear water bottle filled with plain water.  Only plain water is to be consumed in the classroom

Don't forget

• To wash water bottles daily
• Don't share water bottles

NOT ALLOWED

• All other drinks (including waters with added vitamins, minerals, or carbonates) are not permitted including:
• Fruit juice or fruit juice drink
• Fruit cordial or mineral waters
• Vegetable juices