Fresh fruit effort gets brave new backer

THE McKern Steel Foundation’s Fresh Fruit Fridays program has expanded with the backing of a local semi-pro sports team.

The Foundation recently partnered with the Bendigo Braves for the initiative that provides fruit to more than 11,000 children across 33 local primary schools and kindergartens each week.

The McKern Foundation came out of Eaglehawk’s McKern Steel and managing director Michael McKern said his team were “thrilled” to join forces with the Braves for the initiative.

“There was a lot of talk a few years ago about kids not getting enough fruit in their daily diets, so we decided to start providing fruit to kids in primary school,” Mr McKern said.

“We’ve had a bit of a partnership with Bendigo basketball over the past few years.

“We provide the fruit weekly to the school, and either some of our staff members or some of the Braves go along to a school on a weekly basis and cut it up and share that with them and also talk to them about healthy, active living.

“We get to as many as we can and we take the Braves with us, but the fruit goes to every school weekly.”

Community engagement officer for Bendigo Braves, Georgia Rogers, said the team wants to promote healthy eating habits in kids from an early age.

“Working with professional athletes, we know how important it is to fuel our bodies with the right foods,” said Ms Rogers.

“We are excited to partner with the McKern Steel Foundation on this important initiative, and we look forward to visiting more local schools to promote fresh fruits and a healthy lifestyle.”

The McKern Foundation has been running Fresh Fruit Fridays since 2015 and supports other causes as well, like the children’s ward at the Bendigo Hospital, Challenge-Kids with Cancer, and the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.