National campaign a sign to up your veggie game

A campaign that encourages Australians to boost their vegetable consumption will be served up through an out-of-home advertising campaign via a partnership between Health and Wellbeing Queensland, the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and AUSVEG.
Designed to deliver a national healthy eating initiative, which aims to increase the consumption of vegetables and tackle the rising cost of food, the Fresh veg, deliciously affordable campaign encourages Aussies to swap fast food and takeaway for quick, cost-effective, and healthy home-cooked meals using fresh, seasonal produce.
Vegetables are significantly cheaper than common snack alternatives such as chips, muesli bars, and deli meats, which can cost upwards of $0.78 per serve.1
Most Australians fall short of the recommended 5 daily serves of vegetables, leaving them vulnerable to chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and overweight and obesity.2
Dr Robyn Littlewood, Health and Wellbeing Queensland Chief Executive Officer emphasised the opportunity for families:
‘Two in 3 adults and 1 in 4 children live with overweight or obesity. In fact, living with overweight or obesity has now overtaken tobacco smoking as the leading risk factor contributing to disease burden.
‘This campaign is aimed at improving health and lowering the cost of the weekly grocery shop, and in the long-term having a positive financial impact through decreased healthcare costs.
‘Health and Wellbeing Queensland is here to make healthy happen for everyone, no matter where they live.’
This year’s Deliciously Affordable campaign follows new findings from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Burden of Disease Study 2024, showing overweight and obesity have overtaken tobacco use as Australia’s top health risk, accounting for 8.3% of the nation’s disease burden.3
Encouragingly, the AIHW study found early intervention and prevention measures that avoid or reduce key risk factors, such as obesity, can have a positive impact.
‘By increasing the number of vegetables you eat daily, you are improving your short- and long-term health outcomes, lowering the cost of your weekly grocery bill and diminishing the likelihood of longer-term health consequences,’ Dr Littlewood said.
Elizabeth McIntyre, CEO of the Outdoor Media Association, said the 4-week campaign – which is live until the end of February – delivers an important message at a critical time.
‘Fresh veg, deliciously affordable is all about educating consumers on how adding just 1 extra serve of vegetables a day can make a big difference, not just for their health, but also their budget and in supporting local growers.
‘Now is a great time for Aussies to add veggies to back-to-school and work lunch boxes and support ‘new year, new me’ resolutions.’
Partnering with OMA and AUSVEG provides another opportunity for Health and Wellbeing Queensland to act now to protect the future health of Queenslanders.
To discover ways to incorporate healthy, cost-effective summer vegetables into your diet visit boostyourhealthy.com.au
Media contact:
0439 599 210
Sources
- National Health Survey (NHS) 2022 – Dietary behaviour | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)
- Healthylife – Living Healthy Report 2024
- Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024 – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (aihw.gov.au)