The benefits of the London Olympics are being weighed against their defecits by growers, following news that the funding to an outstanding Black Country scheme to provide fresh fruit and veg for schoolkids is to be abandoned.
The Big Lottery Fund reportedly rejected an application from Wolverhampton Community Food Initiative (WCFI) for £350,000 over four years to supply free fruit in schools and low-cost fruit and vegetables across Wolverhampton city.
WCFI development manager James Gurney claimed that more lottery cash was being diverted to London to pay for the 2012 Olympics and the company’s closure would impact on local suppliers.
“The Lottery is changing its priorities to more money within London. It showed there’s a massive demand out there and that people wanted this scheme,” he said. WCFI provided fruit once a week to 13 primary city schools and gave presentations on healthy eating to pupils.
The firm has kept going for the last 15 months with £50,000 from Wolverhampton Health and Wellbeing Partnership - an independent organisation funded by the council and Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust - in return for healthy eating talks. But Gurney said the business was not viable in the long-term without lottery money.
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