Thousands of pupils across the country will learn how to prepare and cook nutritious fruit and veg recipes using slow cookers donated to their schools by Tesco.

The donations build on the £4m Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, launched in October last year with influencer and Michelin-trained chef, Poppy O’Toole, which provides funding for more than 140,000 pupils to receive at least one piece of fruit or veg a day and gives their diets a healthy and nutritious boost.

Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools supports pupils in over 400 schools where there is a higher-than-average free school meal ratio, and in total aims to provide around 16 million pieces of fruit and vegetables. Over a school year, that’s the equivalent of 110 portions per child on average.  

Since the launch of the scheme, pupils in the schools taking part have enjoyed almost 2.5 million portions of fruit and veg weighing more than 194,000 kilos! The five most popular items of fruit were apples bananas, oranges, kiwi and satsumas, and most popular veg were potatoes and carrots.

The slow cookers will help the schools currently receiving fruit and veg make the most of the produce they’re receiving and teach pupils how to prepare, cook and try nutritious recipes.

The donations were inspired by Hillborough Junior School who used a Tesco Stronger Starts grant to set up a slow cooker club that saw pupils prepare and cook meals and take them home for their families to share.

According to The Institute For Global Food Security: Queens University Belfast, learning to cook at a young age can set young people up with positive dietary patterns for adulthood. Children tend to be more willing to eat vegetables and food in general when they’ve been involved in cooking it.

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.

Mark Carr, head teacher at Holly Hill Church School, which is taking part in the Tesco Fruit & Veg For Schools, said: “The Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools scheme has allowed us to help children try fruit and veg that they wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to try, resulting in them getting a healthier diet and making healthier choices."

"The children look forward to their breakfast fruit snacks and are excited to come to school to see what they have that day. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries have been the biggest hits so far!”

Claire De Silva, Head of Communities at Tesco said: “Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools is making a significant difference by providing young people in some of the most challenged communities in the UK with more of the essential vitamins and minerals that children need to thrive."

"The slow cookers will help schools go even further in encouraging pupils to give healthy foods a try and form habits that will stay with them as they grow up.”

Elaine Hindal, Chief Executive of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: “We are delighted to see that the scheme has already delivered almost 2.5 million portions of fruit and vegetables into schools, contributing to improving diets of children and young people. It’s particularly inspiring to see the wide variety of different produce being purchased. With over 80 different types so far, from asparagus to edamame and persimmon to pomegranate, these varieties may be new to children and likely out of reach on the tight budget that schools usually have to work to.”

Chef, Poppy O’Toole, who is supporting the campaign, said: “Making sure young people have a healthy diet packed with nutritious food is an important part of giving them a stronger start in life."

"Getting youngsters involved in preparing and cooking food is the best way to encourage them to try new foods and help them develop healthy eating habits that will hopefully stay with them for life."