Sometimes you are the statue.

And sometimes you are the pigeon!

Walk (or run ... or crawl ... or hop ... or ... just do it!) for women on Mother's Day 9 May 2010 wherever you are in Australia. Or volunteer to help the event take place. Or, just show your support for breast cancer research by wearing something pink on the day!

Since 1998, Mother's Day Classic participants have walked or run more than 1.5 million kilometres - the equivalent of 80 laps around Australia. If everyone encourages friends, families and colleagues to join in 2010, maybe we can make 2 million kilometres covered to raise funds for breast cancer research!

At VSCA, we're convinced that there's more to life than work and the daily grind. In fact, we think it's these extra activities which bring the most meaning to our lives.

Get out of your "rabbit burrow", do something different, talk to people you normally wouldn't meet - and do your bit for women like you at the same time.

VSCA's Prue will be walking in pink in Melbourne - what about you? Like to form a group and walk together? Contact us if you'd like more information!

To find out more about the Mother's Day Classic, view these links:

Mothers Day Classic - http://mothersdayclassic.com.au

Frequently Asked Questions - http://mothersdayclassic.com.au/faq

Melbourne event - register, donate or volunteer http://mothersdayclassic.com.au/event/vic/melbourne

Does the "Mother's Day Clasic" have a personal meaning for you? Have you been involved in a "pink" activity? Will you be involved this year? We'd love to hear your comments - click the pink button at the top left of this page to tell us what you think!

© VSCA 14 April 2010

Schools often tell us that they have difficulty getting kids to buy fresh fruit. "The apples and oranges sit in a basket until they go wrinkly or mouldy, and then we throw them out!"

So much of eating - and life in general - lies in the way we present things: How it looks - size, shape, colour! How 'easy' and 'fun' we perceive it to be! What we call it!

At VSCA we find that whole pieces of fruit generally do not sell well. We can think of many reasons this might be. Whole pieces of fruit take too long to eat, are too 'fiddly' and 'messy' (if you think of a whole orange, for instance); and for the kids in grade 1 or 2 with wobbly teeth, or the secondary students with orthodontic braces, just too hard to get your mouth around! They might also be perceived as too 'big' or too 'boring', compared with the many snacks around which are designed to appeal to young fingers, minds and mouths.

But there are plenty of other ways to present fresh fruit. Try offering cut or chunky fruit pieces - watermelon slices, kiwi fruit, orange quarters, pineapple rings, half banana, apple slinky, grapes, cherries, strawberries, mandarines, canteloupe, and so on - according to fruit in season.

Fruit salad is another popular option. Cut fresh fruit with a can of pineapple pieces (those tinned in pineapple juice are preferable to those in syrup). Serve in a dish or cup. Or, without the pineapple juice, a mixture of cut pieces in a VSCA magic seal snap lock bag (also good for vege sticks). [Please contact VSCA for details of sizes and prices of VSCA magic seal bags or to place an order.]

Left over fruit salad can be frozen and sold as a frozen snack - the kids love it so much, you may find you actually have to make up fruit salad especially to freeze! No wastage at all that way - what is not sold fresh is frozen and sold frozen. Win, win!

Schools also freeze fresh fruit pieces (orange slices or quarters, grapes, watermelon, all sorts of berries in season) - and very popular are frozen canned pineapple slices (they call them "UFOs") and frozen canned pineapple pieces. Australian canned pineapple is good because it is consistently top quality, is quick and easy, and is grown, picked, processed and packed in Australia. It avoids the problems with trying to select perfect fresh pineapples every time and also the time it takes to peel and core and cut up... especially when there is not much time or many hands to help.

Or how about this idea... What about opening an 880g can of Australian crushed pineapple in pineapple juice (not in syrup)? The cost is under $3. Don't drain it. Just divide roughly between 6 - 8 200ml VSCA enviro cups to about 1/2 - 2/3 - 3/4 full - you decide how much. (Don't fill to the top - less spillage! And it will expand a bit when it freezes!) Place on a flat surface in the freezer (or on a tray) and freeze. Serve frozen - call them "Frozen Sunshine" or something ridiculously silly. Sell them for at least $1.00 each - to cover cost of cup and crushed pineapple. The pineapple juice won't freeze hard so they won't need a spoon to eat it. Why not make up 1 can and try selling them without even advertising them - just sample them over the counter? And it is an "Everyday" (green) snack! No need to make up enough for every kid in the school - just hold enough for lunch orders and any spares for window sales - once sold out they'll have to order them or get in earlier. This creates a demand!!! If they take off, you can purchase an A10 size can (3 kg) - much more economical. Keep the selling price the same, just make more profit!

Hope these few ideas might be helpful - and a start to your more "fruitful canteen".

Here's a photo (see above right) from one Victorian country primary school that sells lots of fruit - I think you'll agree it looks delicious - good enough to eat!!!

Has your canteen found a successful way to sell fresh fruit? Please tell us about it so we can share it with other schools! Email your comments to blog@vsca.org.au or click the pink button at the top left of this page to tell us what you think!

© VSCA 3 March 2010