A SCHEME to supply fresh fruit and veg at a dale school has taken root.
A good choice of fresh food is hard to find in Evenwood which has only one shop, but thanks to The Auckland Project each Monday families can collect a wide variety of fruit, veg, milk and eggs from the school gate.
Evenwood primary’s parent support advisor Rachel Stevens said the scheme had been running successfully for a month and it would continue until Christmas.
She added: “The children are really loving it – there is a real buzz about it and it has been very well received.
“There is only one shop in the village now so the selection of fresh fruit and vegetables maybe isn’t there.
“One mum said her daughter will eat carrots now because they have come from the school.”
She said the great part of the scheme is that there is no stigma involved as parents and children work together to select the items they need.
Ms Stevens said: “We put it out on Monday and it is gone by Monday. “People are great and have been mindful that there is enough to go around.”
The weekly deliveries are made by Charlotte Walton, food project co-ordinator for The Auckland Project, which also helps about ten other schemes in the region.
She said: “There is a ton of food each week. About 780kg is fresh fruit and vegetables and the rest is milk, eggs and bread.”
The food is largely distributed to foodbanks, but where there are no foodbanks in an area, arrangements are made to give it to local organisations.
She said: “Some places make hamper boxes, other places are turning them in prepared meals, so it is up to the end user what they want to do with it.”
While most of the food is bought, some of it is grown in the walled garden at Auckland Castle.
