Tomorrow’s Canadian consumers will have the benefit of being school children today growing up in the age of Freggie. “Freggie is the embodiment of the youth component of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s ‘Half Your Plate’ campaign for elementary aged school children (5-12 years old),” CPMA stated on its website. “Freggie and Freggie Tales are designed to provide children with the opportunity to learn about fruits and vegetables in a fun and exciting way.”

The program has been carefully designed to fully engage young children during their formative years. “This is just one part of our effort to encourage consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables for overall better health,” CPMA stated. “Program elements, including the In-school program, are designed to help children understand the benefits of making healthy food choices that include fresh fruits and vegetables. By doing so, children begin to learn about taking responsibility for their overall health.”

The beloved Freggie, the embodiment of the youth component of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s ‘Half Your Plate’ campaign, is frequently seen making visits to local retail establishments and children’s classrooms across Canada. The Freggie In-School Program is readily available for implementation to schools across Canada with an integrated PDF kit.

“This curriculum complements school healthy living initiatives and Ministry health guidelines, including Ontario’s PPM150,” CPMA said.

According to CPMA, school children receive ballots for each piece of produce they bring and eat at school. Entered into a special ballot box, two students from each class are selected from the box to win a Freggie Award. The more fruits and vegetables a student consumes, the greater his or her chances are to be one of the selected students.

The beauty of the program, CPMA stated, is the ability for schools to tailor the program to meet individual healthy eating and active living initiatives.

“The Freggie Educator’s Guide was designed with an Ottawa Catholic School Board teacher and offers great tips to integrate fruits and veggies into your regular curriculum with little effort,” CPMA went on to say. “Our newly developed curriculum package offers comprehensive lesson plans for grades 1 through 6, and supports various elements of curriculum expectations from health to language arts, science and math, dramatic arts and more.”

Students have an opportunity to interactively explore Freggie Land by visiting freggietales.ca.

The site includes an interactive Write to Freggie program, Freggie Tales Adventures, games, jokes, recipes and more.