5 A DAY coordinator for East Sussex, Peter Turvey, has been working with a local greengrocer to launch a new initiative to encourage local children to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
To launch the pilot scheme, local children were given free vouchers to use in exchange for a piece of fruit or vegetable, or they could buy the produce at a reduced cost of 10p.
In return they received a ‘Fruitables United’ card. There are 11 cards to collect, each one depicts a different fruit or vegetable character, which form part of a dream team - Fruitables United. The cards are issued randomly, so children can have fun swapping their duplicates to complete their set.
Jay Carroll, owner of the Ninfield Road greengrocers in Sidley said: “We wanted to make children feel as confident in purchasing fruit and vegetables as they do chocolate and fizzy drinks, so initially we created a kids corner at the front of the shop, using stickers, fruit and vegetable bean bags, balloons and colourful posters to link the shopping experience with fun.
“The collectible cards have helped to promote the kids corner and have been a good way to make kids think twice about what they are buying. The initiative has been a great success so far, and it’s been a great way to establish good links with the community and our customers.”
Turvey said: “This is the first scheme of its kind, but the pilot is going so well that we plan to work with other grocers to roll out the project. The long-term goal of the initiative is to promote lifelong positive shopping habits by encouraging children to buy fruit and vegetables, while supporting local greengrocers. It has been shown that eating habits formed in childhood stay with you for the rest of your life, so I hope that we can build on this initial success.”
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