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Sheffield pupils go bananas for free fruit!
Year 7 pupils from Sheffield Park Academy were among three of the city’s schools to begin receiving free fruit at school this week thanks to Sheffield’s Healthy Towns Programme, led by NHS Sheffield in partnership with Sheffield City Council.
Over 800 year 7 pupils from Westfield, City and Sheffield Park Academy schools are taking part in a pilot to establish whether offering free fruit to pupils aged 11 and 12 increases their uptake of fruit and vegetables, contributing towards 5-A-DAY Government recommendations.
This move is a result of worrying figures which suggest that young people eat less fruit and vegetables when they transfer from primary to secondary school.
If the pilot is successful, it will be rolled out to hundreds of young people across Sheffield within the next two years.
Amy Plant, Healthy Schools Coordinator for NHS Sheffield said:
“Currently free fruit is offered to children in the city aged 4 –
6 and the scheme has worked to encourage young people to eat fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced diet during their school lives, helping them to develop healthy eating habits for the rest of their lives.”
Cllr Sangar, Chair of Children and Young People 0-19+ Partnership Board and member of the Healthy Towns Board, said “Childhood obesity is a problem that is affecting the whole country, not just here in Sheffield.” He added that the Sheffield Healthy Towns Programme was taking some “fantastic and innovative measures” to address issues of obesity in the city.