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10 Years of Fresh Fruit Friday – and Still Going Strong
Last Friday, we had the pleasure of celebrating a huge milestone for one of our favourite local initiatives – the Fresh Fruit Friday program by the McKern Foundation, now marking 10 years of nourishing Bendigo kids and strengthening the community.
Adroit Bendigo, are proud to be a long-standing partner of this incredible program. What started as a simple idea—to give children access to fresh fruit—has grown into a movement that’s changing lives and creating healthier futures.
Here’s what Fresh Fruit Friday has achieved in just the past year:
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980kg of fruit delivered every week
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12,750 kids across Bendigo enjoying fresh fruit weekly
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32 schools, kindergartens and key community locations including Bendigo Health Emergency Department, Bendigo Golf Club, and Lifely.
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39 tonnes of fruit delivered across the year!
It’s more than impressive numbers. We’ve seen first-hand how this initiative lifts kids’ energy, focus and wellbeing. For some families, it’s the only access they have to fresh produce during the week. Teachers have shared how they used to fund the fruit themselves—now they’ve got real support behind them.
Hats off to Michael McKern and every partner making this possible.
And here’s the exciting part: The McKern Foundation is calling for more partners to come on board so the program can reach even more kids in the Bendigo region.
Let’s grow this together—because healthy kids mean a healthier Bendigo.