Lottery funding for a Black Country-based company that supplied more than 10,000 schoolchildren, elderly and disabled people in the area has been turned down, forcing it to close.

The business has blamed the 2012 Olympics for diverting lottery funds to London.

The Big Lottery Fund rejected an application from Wolverhampton Community Food Initiative (WCFI) for £350,000 over four years to supply free fruit in schools and low cost fruit and vegetables across Wolverhampton city.

WCFI development manager James Gurney claimed more lottery money was being awarded to London to pay for the Games. “The lottery is changing its priorities to more money within London,” he explained.

He said the closure would impact on local suppliers.

The business catered for 11,600 people in the city. “It showed there’s a massive demand out there and that people wanted this scheme,” Gurney added.

The firm provided fruit once a week to 13 primary city schools and gave presentations on healthy eating to pupils, and it delivered cheap fruit and veg to elderly and disabled people’s homes.

A £50,000 grant from the Wolverhampton Health and Wellbeing Partnership - an independent organisation funded by the council and Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust - has kept the firm going over the last 15 months, in return for healthy eating talks.

But Gurney said the business was not viable without lottery money.

The 11-year old business is to close and five members staff, including delivery drivers, secretaries and management, will lose their jobs.

The Big Lottery Fund has denied the 2012 Olympics had reduced the amount of money available.

Tim Clark, a spokesman for Wolverhampton City Council, said the 13 schools supplied by WCFI would get their fruit from other companies.

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