Ever since the government began its School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme, there have been calls for some form of back-up mechanism to attach greater long-term relevance to the produce that turns up at thousands of primary schools every day.

Not least from this column. I have always believed there is far more that can be done than putting a piece of fruit or veg a day into a four-to-six-year-old mouth. I am old enough to have received free milk while at primary school, and I know that the pigeon-pecked tops and the inch and a half of cream that greeted me every day did not exactly endear me to the product.

Not once did a teacher try to educate us about milk, and I am sure there are very few teachers around who accompany the free produce given to their pupils with educational information that explains what the product is and why they should continue to eat it, at school and at home.

The Food Dudes concept has a proven track record, and will deliver these types of messages to the classroom, plus use a reward-based scheme to steer our nation’s children along the road to a healthy future.

The organisations that have seen the light so far deserve our heartfelt thanks, as they are without question investing in the future of our industry. I hope the government is not too far behind with a further cash injection at best, but at least its full public backing for a scheme that will add significant value to its SFVS investment.