Fruit Feast For Pupils

Growing numbers of Herefordshire youngsters are swapping sweets for satsumas as part of a successful West Midlands School Fruit Program.

Around 90 per cent of pupils at Herefordshire Schools are now receiving free snacks of fruit thanks to lottery money delivered through the New Opportunities Fund.

That means around 5,785 students are receiving a free portion of nutritious and tasty fruit each day.

Evidence suggests that eating fruit and vegetables helps reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease and that healthy eating habits need to be formed in childhood to prevent disease in later life.

Julian Reeves, Health Development Co-ordinator, said: "This is an excellent scheme that is making a real contribution to increasing the fruit and vegetable intake of young children, in line with the Government's 5-a-day initiative which will be unveiled in Herefordshire shortly.

"Schools are reporting that the children really look forward to their fruit at morning-break time.”

Mike Dentten, Herefordshire Healthy Schools Partnership Co-ordinator, said: “There have been very few problems with the quality or storage of the fruit and this scheme enables schools to put into practice the simple message that as a society we should eat more fruit. “

The scheme is aimed at all children attending LEA schools who are aged between four and six years’ old.

Mike added: “Delivering fresh fruit two or three times a week to all the participating schools in a rural county such as Herefordshire is not an easy exercise but our contractors have done a superb job.”