UNITED KINGDOM – Tesco announced plans to offer children free fruit while their parents shop. The initiative, which is being launched in more than 800 Tesco stores across the U.K., is aimed at creating healthy eating habits among kids that will stay with them as they grow up, and to make it easier for children to get the fruit and vegetables they need.

Participating stores will have a selection of fruits available including apples, soft citrus and bananas for parents to give to their children. The move comes after Maria Simpson, a Tesco checkout employee from a store in Lincolnshire, 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 trial the initiative in Scotland to see how it might work on a bigger scale.

Matt Davies, Tesco CEO for UK and ROI, said, “We’re Britain’s biggest greengrocer, so we want to make it easier for parents to get their children eating more healthily. As a dad, I know it can be tricky getting children to eat their fruits and vegetables, so we’re hoping this initiative will help create healthy eating habits that will stay with children as they grow up.”

The initiative marks the latest step in Tesco’s drive to make it easier for colleagues and customers to eat more healthily.

• In 2014 Tesco became the first major retailer to remove sweets and chocolates from its checkouts across all store formats, including smaller convenience stores.
• In 2015 Tesco announced that all the children’s lunchbox-sized soft drinks it sells would have no added sugar in them, which is on top of the four and a half billion calories and 1,400 tons of sugar it has already cut from its soft drinks range.
• So far more than one million children have visited farms, factories and Tesco stores to learn about where their food comes from and how to eat more healthily through Tesco’s Eat Happy project.
• Earlier this year, Tesco also launched its Perfectly Imperfect range of ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables, plus a new range of farm brands—helping customers find great tasting fresh food at affordable prices at Tesco stores.

The initiative has been welcomed by health experts and charities.

Helen Dickens, Diabetes UK Interim Director of Prevention of Type 2 diabetes, said: “Unhealthy diets and being overweight can lead to serious health conditions like Type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable by eating well and getting active. We welcome Tesco’s ongoing commitment to making the healthy choice easier for all their customers.”