The McKern Foundation is putting out a call to Bendigo businesses to support their flagship project – Fresh Fruit Fridays – so that it can be expanded and offered to more schools and kindergartens around the region.
The McKern family, which owns McKern Steel, has been a part of the Bendigo community since 1976 and has been contributing and giving back to the local and Victoria-wide community throughout this time, with a key focus on projects that support the health and wellbeing of youth.
“The Fresh Fruit Fridays program was started by the McKern Foundation in 2015 and has grown so much that it currently delivers 850kg of fruit each week to 11,000 students at 33 schools and kindergartens,” said Michael McKern, Managing Director of McKern Steel.
“That’s a great achievement, but we have more schools that would like to see the program at their school, so we need new businesses to come on board in addition to our current partners, JL King and BlueScope Steel,” Michael continues.
Feedback from the current schools who are part of the program is that Fresh Fruit Fridays has really helped them to keep the conversation going around healthy eating, while at the same time supporting kids that would otherwise go without fresh fruit in their lunch boxes.
The Obesity Evidence Hub which provides information on obesity trends and impacts in Australia, shows that consumption of fruit and vegetables in Australian children declines substantially the older they get. By making fruit freely available at schools around the region, the McKern Foundation hopes to see children being less inclined to fall into the habit of choosing unhealthy options in favour of fruit instead.
“Our goal is to introduce this program in as many schools as possible, but we can’t do it alone, which is why we are throwing out the challenge to other Bendigo and Central Victorian businesses to join us,” Michael concludes.
Businesses interested in finding out more about Fresh Fruit Fridays and how they can get involved are encouraged to call Michael McKern on 0418 666 998 or email: chloe.mcconnell@mckern.net.au
