Initiative is aimed at both improving health and making better use of soft plastic recycling
Hundreds of thousands of pieces of soft plastics, such as bread bags and crisp packets, are being repurposed to help kids learn about fruit and veg.
As part of Tesco’s Stronger Starts programme, around 400 schools across the country that already receive support from the supermarket’s Fruit & Veg for Schools initiative are receiving fruit and veg planters made from recycled plastic. Pupils can use these to try out growing their own produce.
Tesco and its horticulture supplier Westland are also providing the pupils with compost, as well as strawberry, cucumber and tomato seeds.
The planters have been designed and built by Plastecowood using the different types of household soft plastic dropped off by customers at collection points outside Tesco stores across the UK.
Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools supports pupils in 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 programme, pupils in the schools taking part have received almost 590,000kg of fruit and veg. The five most popular items of fruit were apples bananas, oranges, kiwi and melons, and most popular veg were potatoes and carrots.
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 new planters 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. They’ll also teach pupils the value of collecting and recycling the plastic packaging they use at home.”
