KNOXVILLE—Get Fruved! Eat more fruits and veggies, that is.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students today are launching a healthy foods campaign that will run through November 19.
The goal of Fruved (which alludes to fruits and vegetables) is to challenge fellow students to set daily and practical health goals: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Trade a soft drink for water. Eat one extra serving of fruits and vegetables a day.
There will be plenty of visual cues to help. Fruved team members will be sporting tomato, grape, carrot, spinach, and banana suits. There may be some good-natured pranks along the way.
Events will include dance-offs and giveaways, including food, T-shirts, and movie tickets.
Throughout the campaign, participants may visit www.fruved.com to follow the antics of the tomato, grape, carrot, spinach, and banana students and learn where they may join in.
“It’s about just being a little healthier every day,” said Sarah Colby, UT assistant professor of nutrition, who is working with students on the campaign.
The initiative is all about “small choices, every day,” she said. “It’s the habits that we develop now that will decide the quality of the rest of our lives.”
This is Fruved’s inaugural year and students hope to spread it beyond Knoxville to sixteen college campuses nationwide in 2012, Colby said. She will seek grant funding for the effort.
For more information, visit www.fruved.com.
—
C O N T A C T S :
Sarah Colby (865-974-6248, scolby1@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lola.alapo@tennessee.edu)