Tesco has announced that its fruit and veg scheme in partnership with the British Nutrition Foundation will be renewed for another year to expand its reach across more schools.

The scheme was launched in September 2024 and aims to provide healthy diet options for children who live in lower-income households.

Ashwin Prasad, CEO of Tesco UK, commented: “Schools have told us what a positive impact the Tesco Fruit and Veg for Schools programme has made on their children, so we are delighted we are able to support even more schools in year two.

“The first year of our programme has been a huge success, and by expanding it we can ensure that even more young people in some of the most challenged communities in the UK get access to more fruit and veg.”

Tesco plans to increase children’s fruit and veg intake by 23% and the scheme will take place at over 550 schools in the country.

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In the previous academic year, the supermarket supported over 140,000 children with over 10 million portions of fruit and veg.

Elaine Hindal, CEO of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: “Tesco’s Fruit & Veg for Schools programme has helped to improve the diets of our young people by helping them get more of their five a day, try new varieties and develop healthy habits that we hope will stay with them through life.

“We’re delighted to see the programme expanded to provide daily fruit and vegetables to even more children who might not normally be able to access them.”