The EU is to allocate €150 million to the Europe-wide School Fruit Scheme for the 2015-16 period.
The central objective of the initiative is to distribute fresh produce to member-state school children aged between six and ten, and thus hopefully inculcate healthy eating habits which will last. 25 countries are participating – a number which does not include the United Kingdom, Finland or Sweden, which have declined participation.
The School Fruit Scheme was begun in 2009 to combat childhood obesity. It benefits about 8.5 million European chidren.
In 2010, the WHO said that aproximately one in three EU children between 6 and 9 are overweight or obese.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
