Chartwells, Tesco, and the British Nutrition Foundation launch a campaign to make fruit and vegetables more appealing to children through creative, child-led dishes, with the aim of boosting healthy eating habits across UK schools.
Chartwells Schools has teamed up with Tesco and the British Nutrition Foundation on a campaign aimed at making fruit and vegetables more appealing to children by turning them into playful, child-led dishes.
The initiative sits within Tesco’s Giant Fruit & Veg Challenge, which asked pupils across the UK to design their own recipes using fruit and vegetables. The winning idea came from 10-year-old Khalessi McKay, a pupil at Pinfold Street Primary School in Walsall, whose Halloween-themed dish, “Swamp Monster’s Crunchy Eyeball Jelly”, combines kiwi, blueberries and cucumber. Chartwells then adapted the recipe so it could be produced at scale and served in more than 1,500 school canteens nationwide.
Entries were judged by representatives from Chartwells Schools, Tesco and the British Nutrition Foundation, alongside farmer and former JLS member JB Gill. Chartwells said it checked the recipes against school food standards, nutrition guidance, portion size and kitchen practicality before selecting a winner that could work across its catering estate. Meg Hughes, Chartwells Schools’ director of nutrition and sustainability, said the company wants children to build positive attitudes towards healthy eating through “exciting and engaging food experiences”.
The campaign also reflects a broader push by Tesco to improve children’s access to fresh produce. Tesco said in April that it would double participation in its Free Fruit & Veg for Schools programme from 500 to more than 1,000 schools from September 2026, with the long-term aim of helping one million schoolchildren access free fruit and vegetables through school and community schemes by July 2029. The retailer said research it commissioned found only one in 10 UK children eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables on a typical school day, while 73% of parents believe colourful, fun presentation makes children more willing to try them. The British Nutrition Foundation has also said only around one in 10 children meet the five-a-day target and has stressed the value of introducing young people to a wider range of produce early in life.
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