Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools, which has been developed in partnership with the British Nutrition Foundation, will provide funding for up to 140,000 pupils to receive at least one piece of fruit or veg a day, giving their diets a healthy and nutritious boost.
The funding will support pupils in 400 schools where there is a higher-than-average free school meal ratio, and in total will provide around 16 million pieces of fruit and vegetables. Over a school year, that’s the equivalent of 110 portions per child on average.
In a recent survey by brand and social impact agency We Are Futures, 71% of teachers said that they would prioritise the choice of ‘fruit and veg for all pupils’ if it was fully funded. And research by FareShare among 10,000 teachers, found that 28% of teachers across England have brought in food for pupils in the last term, which is up from 26% in summer term 2023.
Only 12% of children aged between 11 and 18 are meeting the five-a-day recommendation and for children taking part in the scheme, Tesco expects to see their overall fruit and veg intake increase by 23%, based on the average 5-a-day intakes in school-aged children.
The focus on areas with higher free school meal participation is particularly important because data shows that families on lower incomes struggle to afford a healthy diet. Based on average intakes of these nutrients in children, across the school year, the British Nutrition Foundation estimates this would increase intakes by 7% for vitamin A, 25% for vitamin C, 14% for folate and 10% for fibre.
Ken Murphy, Tesco Group Chief Executive, said: “Our aim is to enable schools to provide enough fruit and veg for every child to have at least one piece every day. Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools will make a real difference by providing something that young people look forward to receiving every day, and we hope it will be another little nudge to get them eating healthy food.”
