Taste Lessons and EU-Schoolfruit

Impact research into Taste Lessons and EU-Schoolfruit shows that:

  • Taste Lessons in combination with EU-Schoolfruit further increases vegetable and fruit consumption, especially among children who receive less encouragement at home.
  • EU-Schoolfruit leads to an increase in vegetable and fruit intake at schools without a nutrition policy.
  • Schools that implement a nutrition policy after EU-Schoolfruit, with 5 fixed vegetable and fruit days, eat twice as much vegetables and fruit as schools without agreements.

51% of schools have fixed vegetable and fruit days

This year too (2025-2026), the DUO Education Omnibus Survey was conducted. In the Omnibus Survey, DUO asks 300 primary school principals and teachers to complete a questionnaire. One third (36%) of these schools are participating in EU-Schoolfruit this year. The main points are:

  • 51% of schools have one or more fixed vegetable and fruit days throughout the entire school year. 16% of schools have fixed fruit and vegetable days only during EU-Schoolfruit. The remaining schools have no fixed vegetable and fruit days.
  • Of the schools that have one or more fixed vegetable and fruit days throughout the entire school year (40 weeks), slightly more than half (52%) have these on every school day. 7% of schools have 4 fixed days, 15% have 3 fixed days, 15% have 2 fixed days, 10% have 1 fixed day and 1% have organised this differently.
  • Of the schools that do not have fixed vegetable and fruit days, 72% do not have them because the pupils bring vegetables and fruit several days a week on their own initiative. 44% of schools believe that this is the responsibility of the parents or carers, not the school.

Schools are positive about EU-Schoolfruit

EU-Schoolfruit is evaluated every year. In the 2024-2025 evaluation report, almost all schools (very) positive about EU-Schoolfruit (95%). The programme received an average rating of 8.0. Schools are most positive about:

  • children becoming acquainted with different types of vegetables and fruit; and
  • vegetables and fruit being available free of charge to all children.

School fruit policy

From 2017 to 2019, Wageningen University & Research conducted research into how eating vegetables and fruit during the morning snack break can become a habit for all children, parents and schools. The research was conducted among 569 children in grades 3 to 5 at 9 primary schools. The main findings:

  • School fruit policy increases vegetable and fruit intake – At schools with five fixed vegetable and fruit days, pupils eat more than twice as much as at schools without a policy (130 versus 60 grams).
  • Parents are positive about a school fruit policy – Most parents found the five-day policy useful, encouraging and enjoyable. They did not experience it as unpleasant or excessive.

Source: EU-Schoolfruit.