A leading London grocer has launched ‘The Fruit Challenge’ to promote healthy eating among schoolchildren.
The scheme, at Budgens of Islington,aims to provide hundreds of local youngsters with fresh fruit during the school week.
Children living near the north London site have each been issued a Fruit Challenge Game Card in-store, which entitles them to six pieces of fruit per week, completely free of charge.
Each time a child takes a piece of fruit they receive a ‘Victory Stamp’ on their game card. Local children are encouraged to come into the store before and/or after school to choose from fresh bananas, apples, pears and clementines to snack on.
Every completed game card is entered into a monthly prize draw and parents can also claim a £2 discount using the card, when they spend over £20.
This is the first time this scheme has been launched in a Budgens store, and so far it has been extremely successful, giving away between 350 to 500 pieces of fruit per week (roughly £100 sales value).
The store saw a massive 6 per cent increase in sales growth the first week of the fruit challenge and 7 per cent in the second week, which is more than double the growth during these months year on year.
Paul Gardner, who runs the store along with Andrew Nash, said:“As an independent retailer of fresh foods we’re always thinking of new ways that we can give back, and support the community. By providing all children with accessibility to fresh, healthy snacks for school we aim to promote good nutrition and lifelong healthy eating habits by incorporating it into a fun and rewarding activity.
“We are looking to partner with the local school to encourage more children to come and get their fruit from Budgens to be in for a chance of winning some fantastic draw prizes.”
Students are allowed to come into store twice a day during the school week to collect up to ten pieces of fruit per week. Game cards must be completed within one week
Founded by John Budgen in 1872, Budgens is believed to be one of the oldest supermarket brands in the UK. Most Budgens stores are locally owned by independent retailers.
Budgens of Islington opened in March 2008 and currently employs 50 members of staff.
