CANCER Council NSW is calling for volunteers to help prevent the disease by encouraging residents of the Dubbo and Mudgee districts to eat more fruit and vegetables.
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Volunteers recruited to the free program Eat It To Beat It, instruct parents and carers of school-age children on preparing lunches and making quick and cheap meals.
Ninety per cent of adults in Western NSW are not consuming enough vegetables and 50 per cent not enough fruit.
"Yet five to 12 per cent of all cancers could be prevented just by eating the right amount of fruit and veg," Cancer Council community programs co-ordinator Camilla Barlow said.
"We want all families around Dubbo and Mudgee to be as healthy as possible, which means eating five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit every day.
"Eating the right amount of fruit and veg is one of the simplest ways you can lower your family's risk of cancer and we need help spreading that message as far and as wide as possible."
Ms Barlow said the volunteers would run sessions of 25 and 90 minutes duration.
"We don't have any set criteria for our program facilitators," she said.
"We are just looking for motivated, dedicated people that are happy to speak to small and large groups of parents about healthy eating and cancer prevention.
"Our facilitators get a lot from working with our program. They develop public speaking skills, learn about how lifestyle factors influence cancer and get enormous satisfaction from spreading the word about healthy eating."
Volunteers will receive training at no cost on May 25 at Dubbo Neighbourhood Centre.
To register for training call Ms Barlow on 6392 0804 or visit eatittobeatit.com.au.