With only around six per cent of the Gippsland community consuming the five recommended daily serves of vegetables, a new highly visible public campaign is encouraging people in the region to ‘Get the Veg Edge’ by focussing on how eating more veggies every day helps you perform at your best.
AUSVEG, the national peak industry body representing Australian vegetable growers, is joining forces with the Gippsland Region Public Health Unit (GRPHU) and Food & Fibre Gippsland (F&F Gippsland), to deliver Get the Edge. Eat More Veg – a new positive behaviour change campaign encouraging people across Gippsland to eat more vegetables.
Research underpinning the campaign found that while Australians are aware of the importance of healthy eating, vegetable consumption remains low, with life and cost-of-living pressures making it even harder for people to prioritise vegetables. Rather than focusing solely on the long-term health benefits of eating vegetables, Get the Edge. Eat More Veg highlights the everyday benefits that all Aussies need – from powering energy, boosting mood and fuelling focus, to balancing your gut and helping skin glow. The campaign is brought to Gippsland by the newly developed Australian Vegetables brand which celebrates and showcases the seasonal fresh produce that growers provide Australians each and every day.
The campaign launched across Gippsland on 24 August and features prominent outdoor signage and messaging, with placements spanning billboards and bus panels, as well as digital screens in shopping malls, community-based venues and facilities. A Get the Edge. Eat More Veg branded car will also tour the Gippsland region, raising further awareness. Outdoor and social media will direct consumers to VegEdge.com.au to highlight the everyday benefits of eating more vegetables and share easy ways to boost their intake through clever hacks, tips and recipes.
The behaviour change campaign and branding have been developed by Plus One Serve, the AUSVEG-led national evidence-based program powered by Hort Innovation, designed to encourage Australians to eat one additional daily serve of vegetables by 2030. In alignment with the Gippsland Population Health Strategy 2024-2029, the GRPHU is supporting this regional campaign which will proudly feature ‘Healthy Gippsland’ partner branding alongside the ‘Gippsland Trusted’ brand that has been developed by Food & Fibre Gippsland (F&F Gippsland). ‘Healthy Gippsland’ is a regional movement bringing organisations, communities and partners together improve health and wellbeing across Gippsland. This regional partnership reinforces the importance of improving healthy eating, supporting local vegetable growers, and a thriving Gippsland community.
To mark their commitment to improving daily vegetable consumption, GRPHU and F&F Gippsland have signed the Plus One Serve Pledge for More Veg. Together they are encouraging individuals, educators, institutions, health sector organisations, government and community groups across the region to join them in taking practical steps to increase vegetable consumption across Australia. Learn more about the campaign and the Pledge for More Veg at www.plusoneserve.com.au/what-we-do/the-pledge-for-more-veg/
Quotes:
Latrobe Regional Health – Chief Executive, Don McRae:
“Some of the most important work in improving the health of Gippslanders happens long before patients come through our hospital doors. As a regional health service, our responsibility extends beyond caring for people when they’re unwell, it includes working with others to build healthier communities.
There’s something particularly fitting about doing this work in one of Australia’s great food-producing regions. This campaign makes healthy eating practical and positive, it’s not about completely changing the way we eat, but finding simple ways to add a little more veg, more often. Small changes made every day can make a real difference to our health and wellbeing over time.”
Gippsland Region Public Health Unit – Director, Annelies Titulaer:
“Only around six per cent of people in Gippsland are eating the recommended five serves of vegetables each day. That tells us we have a real opportunity to make a difference. As the Gippsland Region Public Health Unit, we are proud to launch the Get the Edge. Eat More Veg campaign because improving healthy eating is an important part of everyday wellness and improving the health and wellbeing of our communities. We want to make eating more vegetables feel achievable, enjoyable and relevant to everyday life. By working with our Gippsland partners, we can take a coordinated approach to encouraging people to add more vegetables to their meals and build healthier habits that last.”
AUSVEG – Chief Executive Officer, Michael Coote:
“Gippsland is proudly one of Australia’s major vegetable-growing regions, and growers here are crucial to economies, communities and food security. Like most Australians, people in Gippsland aren’t eating enough vegetables which isn’t just bad for health, but bad for vegetable growers. Across Gippsland and the country vegetable growers are facing severe economic and operating challenges, and low consumption only adds to the pressure. “Getting more Aussies eating more Aussie grown vegetables helps secure a more viable future for the national industry that we depend on to supply 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce into the domestic market each day, with 98 percent of the fresh vegetables consumed nationally grown here in Australia. AUSVEG is proud to be launching this campaign with partner organisations because it backs Gippsland, backs Aussie growers, and secures the industry’s future.”
Plus One Serve – Managing Director, Justine Coates:
“The daily vegetable consumption of Australians is alarmingly low, and in Gippsland people are eating just 1.6 serves a day on average. Australians understand that vegetables are good for their health. The challenge is giving people a reason to eat more of them today. Our research tells us that the everyday benefits of veggies – more energy, better focus, mood and wellbeing – can be powerful motivators for behaviour change. Get the Edge. Eat More Veg brings these benefits to life in a way that drives high taste appeal and shows people the simple, achievable ways to add more veg to their day. Gippsland is an ideal region to put this approach into action.”
Food & Fibre Gippsland – Chief Executive Officer, Simon Johnson:
“Gippsland’s vegetable growers are the backbone of this region, and campaigns like Get the Edge. Eat More Veg put a spotlight on exactly why that matters. When we back local consumption, we back local growers, and that flows through to jobs, farms and communities right across Gippsland. Partnering our Gippsland Trusted brand with this campaign is about reconnecting people in our region with the food grown right here, and making sure that connection translates into real demand for our local producers.”
Contact:
Sarah Robbins
Program Manager, Plus One Serve – AUSVEG
sarah.robbins@ausveg.com.au
0410 668 667
Media Coverage:
ABC Country hour at 9 minutes and 33 seconds
Fresh Plaza
Produce Plus
Gippsland Times
The Nationals back “GET THE EDGE. EAT MORE VEG” campaign
Warragul and Drouin Gazette – Get the edge, eat more veg
Food & Drink Business
Latrobe Valley Express