Many Grab 5! schools have involved parents and outside organisations in their healthy eating work. In fact, it is a characteristic of Grab 5! projects that have worked well. There are many benefits to both the school and the wider community of such links. Examples of ways to involve parents and outside organisations include:

• School nurses running healthy eating sessions with groups of children.
  
• Community dietitians giving a whole school assembly,
  
• A local producer visiting the school and talking about their work,
  
• Parents helping with extra-curricular activities such as growing clubs, cooking clubs, breakfast clubs and tuck shops,
  
• Members of a local sports team visiting the school and talking about what it means to them to be healthy in terms of diet and exercise,
  
• Local businesses donating free fruit or employees' time for tasks such as painting the dining room,
  
• A local chef visiting the school to talk to the children and do a basic cooking demonstration,
  
• Links with a local allotment.

Fun and practical events such as a Grab 5! tasting event, playground market, apple day or strawberry fair are good ways of involving parents and the local community. By adopting appropriate forms of communication and offering varied opportunities for involvement it is more likely that the healthy eating messages will be taken beyond the school gates to the children's homes and wider community.

Ideas bank 11: Have a special event, ideas bank 12: Start a food club, ideas bank 13: Run a playground market