The Department of Health has moved to reassure the industry that it remains committed to the National School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme (SFVS).

Regional co-ordinator contracts come up for renewal next month and the efficacy of the scheme has been under scrutiny in the national media.

“In the short term, co-ordinators’ contracts will be extended for at least three months beyond the end of this financial year while long-term plans for this important scheme are put in place,” said a spokeswoman.

“The most recent evaluation shows that children participating in the scheme ate more fruit and vegetables than those not in the scheme, plus there was increased awareness and knowledge of the 5-A-DAY message among those children and their families,” said the spokeswoman. “And since this evaluation was undertaken, the scheme has expanded enormously. It now reaches nearly two million children in more than 16,000 schools. In some areas of the country the scheme has encouraged local initiatives to provide fruit and vegetables to other age groups.”

But the DoH concedes that it still has a long way to go in improving the nation’s health. “We know more work needs to be done to continue raising awareness of the importance of healthy eating but changing behaviours can take time,” said the spokeswoman.

Topics