Cancer Council WA has marked the 20 year anniversary of its flagship primary school nutrition program, Crunch&Sip®, by launching a brand new mascot – aptly named Crunchy.
Cancer Council WA’s Schools Nutrition Senior Coordinator, Mikala Atkinson, said, thanks to long-term support from Healthway, Crunch&Sip® had become an important part of the school day for thousands of West Australian children.
“For two decades, Crunch&Sip® has provided a simple and fun way for students to enjoy vegetables, fruit, and water during class time, supporting their concentration, energy levels, and overall wellbeing,” Ms Atkinson said.
“Bull Creek Primary School has been with the Crunch&Sip program from the very beginning , so we are so grateful they are hosting our anniversary celebrations and revealing the new mascot this morning.”
Launched to all Western Australian primary schools in 2005, the program is now running in 560 schools and reaches more than 173,500 students across the State.
Over the years, Crunch&Sip® has expanded to include initiatives such as The Great Veggie Crunch, Crunch & Move, the Crunch Bites podcast, and Packed with Goodness nutrition education sessions for parents. The program has even been adopted in New South Wales.
Ms Atkinson said as part of the anniversary celebrations, students from across WA were invited to design a new mascot to replace the “Vegie Man” mascot.
“We wanted to mark this exciting milestone in a way that students could be directly involved,” she said.
“From more than 170 entries across 34 schools, the creative work of many primary school students has helped bring Crunchy to life – a mascot kids can connect with for years to come.”
