Some of our kids had never tried strawberries.. now they all want to taste new things

Tesco initiative encourages pupils to make more healthy food choices

- BY ABBIE WIGHTWICK

When hungry children take extra fruit at Ferndale Community School, the staff turn a blind eye. A handful of pupils arrive hungry each morning. Some don't even have beds to sleep on.

The school, in a former mining village in the South Wales valleys, has the most deprived community in its local authority area with 37% of pupils eligible for free meals.

Staff do all they can to help. This now includes free fruit and veg in cooking classes, a free breakfast club and free fruit at break and lunch.

"The poverty in some families is quite scary," says the school's community manager, Michelle Coburn-Hughes.

"There is a lack of carpets, lack of beds, siblings sharing beds... there is a correlation between poverty and mental health."

Ferndale is one of around 400 UK schools to receive free fruit and veg through Tesco's fruit and veg for schools programme part of its Stronger Starts initiative.

This provides more than £8million of support to community groups and schools each year.