At some point you may want to do a survey to find out, for example:

• What do children eat? This is useful for highlighting areas which might need attention and also for comparing before and after you start the project.
  
• What do children want? For example if you are thinking of setting up a tuck shop or changing the lunch menus it would be useful to do a survey to find out how well-received this idea is and what food items would be popular.

Surveys can also be a learning opportunity. Children can be involved in designing surveys, undertaking research and analysing the data. They can be used to develop mathematics and IT skills in particular.

See the Grab 5! Curriculum Pack on planning a campaign for further suggestions.

The secrets of good questionnaire and survey design are:

• Make sure the questions are answerable and preferably can be collected into a simple statistic.
  
• Don't ask, "What do you think about….", do ask "Do you think that….. yes / no"
  
• Try to measure easily found facts rather than generalisations.
  
• Don't ask "What do you normally eat for dinner", do ask "What did you eat for dinner last night?"
  
• Don't ask, "How much do you think people would spend for an apple from the tuck shop", do ask
• "Would you buy an apple for 15p from the tuckshop?"
  
• Try to make questions as neutral as possible. Don't make it obvious if there is a 'good' or 'right' answer, otherwise people will tell you what they think you want to hear.
  
• Don't ask "Do you eat junk food?", do ask "What did you eat on the way home?"
  
• Keep the questionnaire short. It will be easier for people to answer and easier to use the data you collect.
  
• If you are using the survey for evaluation purposes ask the same questions before and after the initiative you are assessing.
  
• Test your survey on a small number of people and change any parts that don't work.

Finding out what people eat There is a whole branch of nutritional science involved just in finding out what people eat. The main methods used are: Food diaries (writing it down as you eat it) 24 hour recall (writing it down after you've eaten it) Food Frequency Questionnaires ((FFQ) a check list to show how often you eat different foods) Observation (usually used to validate questionnaires) FFQs and general questionnaires are relatively quick and easy methods of gaining an overall idea of what people are eating. More accurate methods, such as observation and food diaries, are more time consuming. This toolkit includes some sample surveys which could be filled in individually by older children or used by a class to survey the rest of the school.

1. What did you eat at break-time today?

2. If you ate something, where did you get it? (tick one)

Brought it from home
Bought it on the way to school
Bought it in tuck shop
Got it from a friend

3. What did you drink at break-time today?

4. If you drank something, where did you get it? (tick one)

Brought it from home
Bought it on the way to school
Bought it in tuck shop
Got it from a friend
Drinking fountain

5. Do you think it would be a good idea to start selling fruit and vegetable snacks at breaktime? (tick one)

Yes
No
Don't know

6. Which of these would you buy?
(tick as many as you like)

Apple
Satsuma
Pear
Celery
Carrot sticks
Orange Juice
Other (please say what)

7. If the price was 15 pence per fruit would you think this was:

Too much
About right
Too little

NOTE: Include fresh, frozen, tinned, dried, and juiced (juice can only be counted as one portion per day)

1. How often do you eat fruit at breakfast?

Never
One to three times a week
Four to six times a week
Every day

2. How often do you eat fruit at lunch?

Never
One to three times a week
Four to six times a week
Every day

3. How often do you eat fruit as a snack?

Never
Sometimes
Often
Always

4. How often do you eat fruit for dessert?

Never
Sometimes
Often
Always

5. How often do you eat vegetables or salad as a snack?

Never
Sometimes
Often
Always

6. How often do you eat vegetables or salad at lunch?

Never
One to three times a week
Four to six times a week
Every day

7. How often do you eat vegetables or salad with your evening meal?

Never
One to three times a week
Four to six times a week
Every day

We would like to know what you, as a parent, think about the food that is offered in school. Are you satisfied with what is offered and what is taught about healthy eating or would you like to see some changes made?

1. Do you think that your child has a healthy diet? Yes / No

2. Which of these does your child have for lunch? (please tick)

School meal
Packed lunch
Goes home
Buys their own

3. If your child has a school meal, are you satisfied with the:

Choice of food on offer     Yes / No
Quality of food     Yes / No
Price     Yes / No

Comments ……………………………………………………………………......................................................

4. On average, how many portions of fruit and vegetables does your child eat in a day? (one portion is approximately the amount that fits in your child's hand, i.e. half a large apple, a spoonful of peas, or a glass of pure fruit juice)

0     1     2     3     4     5     6+     (please circle)

5. Has the amount of fruit and vegetables your child eats changed in the last year? Do they eat more, less or the same amount as they did a year ago? (please circle)

More     Less     The same amount

6. Are you aware of Grab 5! ?     Yes / No

7. What activities would you like to see happening in your school to do with food and healthy eating?

Healthy tuck shop.     Yes / No
Playground market selling fresh fruit and vegetables.     Yes / No
Breakfast club selling toast and cereal.      Yes / No
Gardening club for children.     Yes / No
Gardening club for children and parents.     Yes / No
Cooking club for children.     Yes / No
Cooking classes for parents.     Yes / No
Tasting sessions.     Yes / No
Visits to farms and shops to see where food comes from.     Yes / No

Other ………………………………………………….............................................................................................

8. Would you like to get involved in any of the above? If yes, which?
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10. Any other comments:
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