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Corner shops in the North East help customers eat their greens

Corner shops in the north east will be the first in England to pilot an £800,000 scheme to get the country eating more fruit and vegetables and reduce obesity, Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo announced today.

The Department of Health is providing £200,000 this year and £300,000 for the next two years to help local shops sell and promote fruit and vegetables. Twelve stores have already signed up to the pilot with the aim of 120 coming on board by next May.

In the north east 12.5 per cent of children aged 2-15 are obese, with a further 15.5 per cent qualifying as overweight. In adults 61 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women are overweight or obese.

Shops involved in the pilot will sell a wider range of fruit and vegetables and display them prominently within their stores. In return, the Department of Health will assign a project co-ordinator to work with each store and offer advice on maximising profits, minimising waste and displaying and promoting the new fresh produce to the local community. Shop keepers will also be able to link up with local initiatives, such as cooking clubs, in a bid to help their customers learn how to build fruit and vegetables into their diet.

A similar scheme is already up and running in Scotland. Corner shops north of the border have seen an increase in profits ranging from 20 per cent up to as much as 400 per cent.

People living near the shops have reported that it has encouraged them to eat more fruit and vegetables.

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