EU extends school fruit and veg scheme

The European Commission has published information on the uptake of its scheme to supply free fruit and vegetables in schools for the 2016-17 school year. The scheme supplies fruit and veg to schools in every EU country, apart from the UK and Sweden which have declined to take part.

During the 2016-2017 school year, more than 12.2 million children in 79,000 schools took part in the EU fruit and vegetables scheme and around 18 million children took part in the EU milk scheme. This represents more than 74,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables over the year.

Germany supplied the largest amount of fruit and vegetables (in financial terms) followed by Italy, France, Spain and Poland. In 2016-2017, apples were the most widely distributed fruit, along with pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, oranges, strawberries and bananas. Carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers were the most popular vegetables.

Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan said, “European farmers provide us with high quality, safe and healthy food, and through the School Scheme, our youngest citizens gain the health benefits of these products while also learning at an early age where our food comes from and the importance of taste and nutrition. €250 million from the Common Agricultural Policy will ensure the continuous rolling out of the EU School Scheme in the 2018-2019 school year.”

Photo Credit: pxhere

The post EU extends school fruit and veg scheme appeared first on Hort News on 21 March.