Health secretary John Reid announced today that a further £77 million government funding will be made available to enable the nationwide roll-out of the National School Fruit Scheme (NSFS).
Already, said Reid, one million children are receiving free fruit at school every day through the scheme that was set up to promote healthy eating and help tackle obesity.
Reid said the scheme typified his vision for improving the nation's health ñ encouraging and educating people about healthy choices and ensuring the government tackles the causes as well as the consequences of ill-health.
Reid also published a new survey showing youngsters who regularly eat fruit at school as part of the scheme consume more fruit outside school hours.
The survey shows that:
• over a quarter of children and their families ate more fruit at home after their school joined the scheme;
• nearly half of all parents questioned think the scheme has made them more aware of the importance of fruit for a healthy diet; and,
• eight in 10 parents say their child always or often ate the fruit provided at school.
Announcing the funding on a visit to Walnut Tree Walk School in Kennington, London, a school participating in the scheme, the health secretary said:
“Encouraging children to eat more healthily is vital if we're to tackle the increasing problem of child obesity.
“We said that every child aged 4-6 years old would be entitled to a free piece of fruit each school day, and this new funding will deliver on this commitment.
“The scheme is a key element of our efforts to combat obesity and encourage a healthier population. We're developing action plans on food, healthy eating and physical activity and we've set the food industry a deadline to outline their commitments to reducing salt levels in their products.”
The funding breakdown to extend NSFS across the whole of England is £33.5m in 2004-05 and £43.5m in 2005-06. Since April 2002, the scheme has operated in four pilot regions with £42 million in National Lottery good cause funding from the New Opportunities Fund.
Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, Chair of the New Opportunities Fund, said: “We are delighted to see the school fruit scheme we have piloted roll out across England. The benefits of developing healthy eating habits as a child are immeasurable and the risk of developing a serious illness in later life is greatly reduced by having a healthy diet throughout your childhood.
“The scheme has demonstrated how we can effectively link up education and health services for local people. Throughout its duration, I have heard heart-warming stories about how schools involved in the programme are teaching young children about the importance of a healthy balanced diet. The School Fruit Pilot programme has been a great example of how Lottery money can be targeted to help improve people's quality of life.”
NSFS also contributes to the wider government strategy for sustainable farming and food. The extension of the scheme over the whole country will mean more opportunities for the UK produce industry.
NSFS is part of the 5-a-day programme to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. The NHS Plan said all four to six year-old children in state schools in England will be entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable each school day. This will entail distributing around 440m pieces of fruit to over 2m children in some 18,000 schools across England.
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