SuperValu, in conjunction with Grow It Yourself (GIY), has published new research showing that one-third of families are growing food at home, with more than eight in 10 confirming they would like to do so.

Some 80% of Irish children are consuming fruit and vegetables every day, with almost two-thirds (63%) of children achieving the recommended daily allowance.

At school, 55% of school-going children have grown food in the classroom, with 88% of parents admitting they would like to see their children grow food at school.

A total of 94% of parents believe children learning to grow food is a life skill that all children should learn.

When it comes to attitudes around children growing and eating fruit and vegetables, research shows that nine in 10 agree that children learning how to grow food at school is important to them, with 89% agreeing that growing food in school would help their child to make healthier food choices.

Some 97% of parents believe that growing food helps their children to develop an understanding of where food comes from, with 87% of parents believing they are less likely to have food waste if we understand where our food comes from.

The research was carried out by IPSOS Behaviour and Attitudes, which included 465 children aged between five and 12 and 323 parents with children between the ages of five and 12, from across Ireland.

Let’s GROW programme

The SuperValu Let’s GROW programme, supported by GIY, which was rolled out in primary schools last month will deliver a food-growing programme in primary schools in 2024 with the ambition of having reached over 100,000 children through the programme.

Seeds, compost discs, knowledge guides and all the tools needed to grow food at school are delivered to primary school classrooms nationwide for free via SuperValu Let’s GROW.

To reach even more families across the country, GIY GROWBoxes are now available at SuperValu stores in order to make getting into growing food at home simple for families across the country.

Founder of GIY Michael Kelly said: “I very much hope that through the delivery of food-growing knowledge at a young age and being able to empower children with a food-growing life skill, we can improve the number of families who are growing food at home in the future, with a new generation of knowledgeable food growers.”