Crunch&Sip

Crunch&Sip® is a set time in primary schools for students to ‘refuel’ on vegetables, salad and fruit and ‘rehydrate’ with water. Students who are not hungry and are well hydrated perform better in the classroom, show increased concentration, and are less likely to be irritable and disruptive. Many students are not eating enough vegetables and fruit or keeping sufficiently hydrated.

Each school can choose a suitable time and way to implement Crunch&Sip® that fits with the school’s timetable. It may suit the school for all classes to have Crunch&Sip® at the same time, or for individual teachers to decide when it best suits their class schedule. Teachers may have Crunch&Sip® time while students continue on with their work, or stop work and hold a Crunch&Sip® specific activity inside or outside of the classroom.

Watch the video to find out how schools have successfully implemented Crunch&Sip®.

Have a look at the Crunch&Sip® webpage for some guidance on how to implement Crunch&Sip® in your school.

What teachers are saying about Crunch&Sip:

“It’s well worth the time it takes to have Crunch&Sip®, to improve students’ concentration for the remainder of the morning.”

Crunch&Sip® is having an impact on students’ learning and making a difference to children’s lunchboxes, which now often contain much healthier options.”

“Some classes were already having a fruit break. Having Crunch&Sip® gave consistency across the whole school.”

“We were concerned at the amount of processed foods students were consuming. To encourage healthier eating habits, the school introduced Crunch&Sip®. The outcomes have demonstrated the positive and life-changing influences that we, as teachers, can have upon our students.”

Crunch&Sip® started fairly slowly, although as people started to see the benefits it increased.”

Health staff from Local Health Districts support schools in implementing Crunch&Sip®.

Crunch&Sip® resources

The Crunch&Sip® program offers teachers a variety of useful resources.

  • Crunch&Sip® Implementation Checklist to help guide you through to becoming a fully implementing Crunch&Sip® school!
  • Classroom resources: Class posters and reward stickers to encourage your students to increase the variety of fruit and veg they bring to school or the amount of water they consume
  • Parent resources: Newsletter snippets and other useful resources to spread the message of Crunch&Sip®
  • Case studies: good examples of how schools decided to change their fruit break to Crunch&Sip®
  • Additional resources: Tips, information documents, certificates and more.

For more information:

Visit the NSW Health Crunch&Sip® website, or contact the Live Life Well @ School program team:

E:  moh-llws@health.nsw.gov.au