Tesco’s ground-breaking ‘Free Fruit for Kids’ initiative has proved a real hit with children

Tesco’s ground-breaking ‘Free Fruit for Kids’ initiative has proved a real hit with children and parents, with over 50 million pieces of free fruit given to children since the programme launched almost two years ago.

The scheme was the brainchild of Maria Simpson, a Tesco colleague from Brigg Superstore in Lincolnshire, who suggested giving free fruit to parents for their children to eat during shopping trips as an alternative to sweets.

The idea was taken up by the store and was so well received by customers that Tesco decided to launch it nationwide, with stands now in 800 stores across the UK. Research last year by Tesco and mumsnet highlighted the positive effect the initiative has had, with a third of parents saying their children have eaten more fruit thanks to the scheme. Three quarters of parents said that the initiative has made their shopping trip easier.

As well as giving away 50 million pieces of fruit, Tesco can also reveal the nation’s children are opting for bananas as their preferred free healthy snack. Over 21 million bananas have been snapped up by kids while their parents are shopping, followed by 19 million apples and 10 million oranges.