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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Amy Martin

Ziggys' award-winning program to keep kids entertained during weekly shop

This may just be the answer for all the parents struggling to keep kids entertained during the grocery shop.

Ziggys Fresh in Fyshwick has just won an award for its Junior Shopper program two months after it was launched.

Ziggys Fresh owners Todd and Ken Irvine are behind the award-winning Junior Shopper program. Inset: Happy shopper and Todd Irvine's daughter, Ella. Pictures by Keegan Carroll, supplied
Ziggys Fresh owners Todd and Ken Irvine are behind the award-winning Junior Shopper program. Picture by Keegan Carroll

Complete with child-sized Ziggys trolleys and shopping bags, balloons, colouring-in competitions and free fruit for kids, the program aims to get kids excited about grocery shopping and in particular fresh fruits and vegetables, in the hope it gets them more excited about eating these foods.

The idea has been popular with the smallest Ziggys shoppers, also picking up a Healthier Choices Canberra award from ACT Health.

"So many times in the shop, you hear families talking and the little kid goes, 'Mum, I want a bit of fruit. I want an apple. Can I have this banana? Can I have this'? And you should reward that," Ziggys Fresh co-owner Todd Irvine said.

"That kid should be rewarded for wanting that fruit. Because there's every chance, when he gets home, he might not want it, or she might not want a bit of fruit. But they're here now and they're excited about it.

"So it's about bringing that next generation in."

A family business run by the Irvines, it's only fitting the idea came from within the family ranks. Ella Irvine, Todd Irvine's two-year-old daughter, was the inspiration behind the program. Not only is she a fourth-generation fruiterer, but she loves going shopping at Ziggys with her grandmother every Sunday.

Ziggys Fresh owners Todd and Ken Irvine are behind the award-winning Junior Shopper program. Picture by Keegan Carroll

"Personally, from my level, I want my daughter to be excited to be here, and now, as soon as she gets here, runs in and goes, 'I gotta go get my trolley'," Mr Irvine said.

"She gets it and follows Mum around, and she gets to help pick out things. And we noticed at home, how much more veggies and things she's willing to eat and try and things like that.

"So I'm sure it's a lot of families go through it where kids just don't want to eat veggies and fruit and things. She always has loved it, but getting her involved in it, getting her home to try it, seems to be working for us."

So what do kids want to put in their trolleys?

Are apples more popular than bananas? Or do they head straight to the confectionary section?

"At this stage, it's about following mum and dad around and mum might go, 'Do you want to put the watermelon in your trolley or the pineapple in your trolley?', or whatever," Mr Irvine said.

"That's the thing, we haven't found that they've gone to confectionery straight away, or they haven't gone to the things that you probably would expect them to go to straight away.

"It's more them being well-behaved, which is one thing I was worried about - I don't want to be the guy to say, 'Hey, calm down. You know, you can't be running around, running people over and things'. But no, it's been a really good response."

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