The allocation of EU aid under the School Fruit Scheme for the 2012/13 school year has been revealed by the European Commission, having been backed by member states and the management committee this week.
Funding, which is expected to be formally adopted by the EC in the coming weeks, will see €90m allocated to 24 participating member states, with Sweden, Finland and the UK opting not to participate.
The main beneficiaries of the scheme will be Italy, which will receive over €20.5m, followed by Germany (€11.6m), Romania (€9.8m), Poland (€9.2m), France (€5.6m) and Spain (€4.8m).
According to the EU, the funding needs to be co-funded at rates between 50 per cent and 75 per cent, matched by either national and/or private contributions.
Launched in 2009, the School Fruit Scheme is set to enter its fourth year in 2012/13, with the aim of increasing the low consumption of fruit and vegetables among schoolchildren – indeed, figures for 2010/11 showed that over 8m children benefited from the scheme by receiving portions of fruits and vegetables in schools.
In its CAP 2020 reform proposals, the Commission is proposing to further strengthen the School Fruit Scheme and allow even more children to benefit by proposing to raise the overall EU budget available for the scheme to €150m, to increase the rates of co-financing and to extend the list of eligible measures.
