JB Gill does not lead your typical ex-pop star life. As well as being a member of the boy band JLS and working as a TV presenter, the dad-of-two runs a farm with his wife, Chloe. And, possibly because of their wholesome farming lifestyle, his children – Ace, aged 11, and Chiara, aged seven – certainly aren’t typical kids where food is concerned. They both love plenty of fruit and vegetables and are even mad for olives.
New research by Tesco has found only one in 10 UK children eats their recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables on a typical school day, and more than a third (37.5%) of parents say their child refuses fruit and veg altogether. “I think a lot of children tend to lead from the top down, from parents, so if they see you incorporating fruit and veggies as part of a balanced diet, then they’re more inclined to go with that,” says Gill, 39. “And we’ve always encouraged them to eat fruit and veg – we’ve always tried to have balanced meals.”
The proud dad says while both his kids eat a lot of fruit and veg, Ace is “very experimental” with his food. “He always has been,” says Gill, who achieved five number one singles with JLS before the band split in 2013 (although they have since reformed for reunion tours). “From a very early age he’s loved his fruit, and he’s pretty good with his veg as well. There are, of course, things that he doesn’t like – like tomatoes.” Chiara “is a little bit more fussy,” he says, explaining that she still eats a lot of fruit and veg, and likes some of the veg he hated as a child. “I couldn’t stand carrots,” he admits. “She doesn’t particularly like them cooked, but she definitely loves them raw – she’ll have a carrot or two to herself if they’re raw. And similarly, she’s into broccoli, which, again, growing up, I absolutely detested.”
Understanding Food Origins
The kids understanding their food’s origins is part of the reason Gill and his wife chose to give up city life for the farm in Sevenoaks in Kent in 2012. He says: “We wanted them to be able to have access to the countryside and to be active, to be outdoors, to be able to understand where their food comes from. Whether they grow up to become farmers as well, or they go into their own industries, I think it’s really important that they have an understanding about how important our food is and where it comes from. It’s something we’re incredibly passionate about and we’ve been championing for many years.”
He feels so strongly about children – and not just his own – learning how important good food is and where it comes from, that he’s teamed up with Tesco to launch the Giant Fruit & Veg Challenge – a competition inviting children to create their own fruit and veg-packed dish, with the winning recipe – judged by Gill and Ace, alongside a panel of experts and nutritionists – featured on school menus across the UK. Ace devised his own dish for the challenge – although his dad doesn’t seem sure exactly what it was supposed to be. “He came up with a hedgehog, a turtle, something like that, created out of different fruit that he loves,” says Gill. “He’s into carrots and grapes and mango and stuff like that, so he created his own little concoction.”
Running alongside the challenge, Tesco is doubling its Free Fruit & Veg for Schools programme from September, increasing participation from 500 to more than 1,000 schools. The programme provides funding for UK schools with higher-than-average free school meal eligibility to provide pupils with fruit and vegetables during the school day. “The countryside is accessible to everybody, and fruit and veg should be too,” stresses Gill. “We want to make sure children have exposure and access to all of these types of things.”
Overcoming Fussy Eating
The Tesco research found the lack of variety in fruit and veg they’re served is part of the reason kids don’t eat much of it, tending to stick to familiar favourites, with fruit far more common than vegetables in their diets. And it’s a vicious circle, as many parents say their kids’ repeated food refusal shapes what they buy at home – 68% of parents say they’ve stopped buying or serving certain fruit or vegetables after their child repeatedly refused them. Gill is happy to admit that doesn’t usually happen in his farmhouse, explaining: “What we’ve always encouraged in our family is variety. And I think most parents will appreciate and agree with that. When you can choose what you’re eating, you’re more likely to choose the things you love and the things you’ve seen your family eating – things like olives. My son absolutely loves olives and Chiara, from when she was a baby, loves them as well, which isn’t the sort of thing you’d expect a young child or a toddler to enjoy. I love my olives, and my wife loves them as well. I guess the kids copy, don’t they?”
He points out that 73% of the parents surveyed said they think their children would eat more fruit and veg if they had the choice – and choice is something Gill had himself as a child, particularly with the fruit he ate, because although he grew up in Croydon, South London, he spent a lot of time as a child in his family homeland of Antigua. “Fruit was definitely my thing,” he recalls. “I come from the Caribbean, and of course, you’ve got lots of exotic fruits there that I’m very much used to. I spent quite a bit of my early years in the Caribbean, so having exposure to all those different types of fruits that we probably wouldn’t even recognise here in the UK was definitely a great start for me, in terms of my relationship with fruit and veg. And that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do throughout this challenge – it’s about developing that connection for school-age children with their food, where it comes from in particular – fruit and veg that they can see.”
And he adds: “My tips for getting more fruit and veg into children are make it fun, so they can be part of the process. Maybe think up a recipe together and then incorporate the fruit and veg they like – that’s a great way to start.”
JB Gill is supporting and will be a judge for the Tesco Great Fruit and Veg Challenge.
