Malta backs Fruit In Schools scheme proposal
Scheme aims to encourage good eating habits in young people for later life
Malta is giving its full support to a European Commission proposal aimed at devising a programme to provide free fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren within the EU.
During an Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels, Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said Malta fully supports the programme and is looking forward to start implementing it as soon as possible.
As part of its efforts to create a healthier society, the European Commission last July made proposals to establish an EU-wide scheme to provide free fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren.
European funds to the tune of €90 million a year would cover the purchase and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables to schools, and this money would be matched by national funds in those member states that chose to make use of the programme.
The Fruit in Schools Scheme aims to encourage good eating habits in young people, which studies show tend to be carried on into later life.
Besides providing free fruit and vegetables, the scheme would require participating member states to set up national strategies including educational and awareness-raising initiatives and the sharing of best practice. An estimated total of 22 million children in the EU are overweight. More than five million of these are obese and this figure is expected to rise by 400,000 every year.
Intervening during the Council meeting, Mr Pullicino said that Malta has a high rate of obesity and is all for this programme to start being implemented as soon as possible.
"Malta totally supports this initiative and calls for flexibility in its implementation so that it is adapted to the traditional and regional products as much as possible," he said.
Mr Pullicino said that countries with a high rate of obesity should be able to get more support from the scheme according to their requirements.
Through the scheme, intended to start from the 2009/2010 academic year, Malta will be getting 75 per cent of the funds necessary from the EU coffers and fruit and vegetables can be purchased from the local market, thus helping the agricultural community.
According to the Commission, studies show that healthy eating habits are formed in childhood and people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables in childhood remain good consumers. On the other hand, those who eat little tend not to change their ways and also pass on their habits to their own children.
Research has also shown that families with a lower level of income tend to consume less fruit and vegetables.