A conference looking at the best way to implement a pan-European school fruit scheme is taking place in Brussels today and tomorrow.
Entitled ‘School Fruit: a healthy start for our children, promoting School Fruit Schemes in the European Union’ the meeting, hosted by the European Commission, will aim to help exchange views, ideas and experiences on how to design and manage fruit and vegetable distribution at school in order to provide healthier food for children.
The conference marks the launch of a European Fruit School Scheme and aims to aid the development of best practice models and the establishment of a network of experts.
This scheme is viewed as a long-term health investment in the fight against obesity. Some 22 million children in Europe are overweight, with more than five million of these obese, and this figure is set to rise by more than 400,000 every year.
As a background to the conference, Freshfel is putting emphasis on some essential elements for a healthy start and a successful implementation of the fruit for schools scheme across Europe.
According to Freshfel, a number of important elements will be fundamental for a healthy start and a long-lasting implementation of the scheme, including a larger budget of around €500 million (£446m), as opposed to the current €156 million (£139m), diversity of the fruit and veg on offer and building a long-term plan for school food.
Philippe Binard, general delegate of Freshfel Europe, said: “The European Fruit School Scheme is an opportunity not to be missed. The programme should be implemented in such a manner that it does not compromise on the integrity of the scheme and focuses on its core objective of delivering fresh fruit and vegetables to children.
“The above recommendations are, according to Freshfel, important parameters for a healthy start of the scheme. Freshfel calls upon the European Commission and Member States to take them into account in the coming months while implementing the system across Europe,” he said.
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