Primary pupils will learn to grow their own fruit and vegetables while taking on the challenge to eat seven a day for seven days during this year’s Incredible Edibles Healthy Eating Week, which runs from 8 May to 12 May.

As part of the Healthy Eating Week activities, Galway GAA star Shane Walsh spoke to the students at Scoil Mhuire na nGael of the benefits of a healthy balanced diet.

The Agri Aware Incredible Edibles programme is sponsored by 15 sponsors, including Dole Ireland, and is expected to reach nearly 80,000 primary school children this year alone.

They will continue to visit schools in Louth, Meath and Kildare throughout the rest of the week.

Students explore healthy eating in Scoil Mhuire na nGael.

Dole Ireland marketing manager Naomi Cassidy said: “We are hugely supportive of the amazing work the project does in promoting health, particularly in primary schools through the Incredible Edibles programmes and for local producers.

“Healthy Eating Week is a hugely important week and we are very proud to sponsor it and [to be] committed to educating, inspiring and empowering children of all ages to embrace healthy eating habits.”

Bloom

The week’s activities come ahead of Bord Bia’s Bloom in the Phoenix Park on the June bank holiday.

At Bloom, up to 1,000 Incredible Edibles project pupils will attend and receive an educational tour of the farmyard run by Agri Aware and the Bord Bia/Department of Agriculture exhibit in the food village area.

Agri Aware chair Shay Galvin said: “As our Incredible Edibles continues to grow, the message we want to send will reach more and more students, as will the amount of fruit and vegetables that are being sown and grown in schools nationwide.”