The Government has announced plans to give poorer families vouchers to receive free fruit and vegeta...
The Government has announced plans to give poorer families vouchers to receive free fruit and vegetables, in a bid to drive down childhood obesity. According to medical reports, 9% of children in the UK aged between two and four years old are now classed as obese. The initiative will form part of the Welfare Food Scheme, which already provides poorer families and pregnant women with milk vouchers. The tokens will be replaced with weekly vouchers that can be exchanged for fresh produce in addition to milk.
Announcing the plans, Health Secretary John Reid said: "The Government is committed to tackling the rise in obesity. Although I believe it's not the Government's role to lecture people how to run their lives, it is our responsibility to provide the means to follow a healthier lifestyle."
Reid said the best way of tackling obesity is through encouraging a healthy diet at an early age. Qualification for the scheme is based on factors such as low income or receipt of tax credits. Families with children over the age of one will receive weekly vouchers worth at least £2.80. Families with children aged under one will receive at least £5.60 a week. All pregnant women under the age of 18 will be eligible for the scheme regardless of their income.
