The Peas Please project, which works to make vegetables more appealing, accessible and affordable for everyone, now has 100 major businesses signed up.
Since the project launched three years ago, it has delivered 162 million additional portions of vegetables into the UK food system, working across all four nations.
This represents 80% of UK retailers now committing to major initiatives to help drive up vegetable consumption across the UK.
The 99th and 100th Pledgers to sign up to the initiative are Ulster University Business School and the University of Stirling – who will be serving and promoting vegetables to their students to increase consumption.
The project said that “this is vitally important as we know 95% of teenagers currently don’t eat enough veg”.
Blackpool Catering services have also pledged to increase the amount of veg served across their portfolio by 10%, and Swperbox in Wales is the first meal kit delivery service to sign up to Peas Pleas, with a pledge to include at least two portions of veg in every meal.
The renewed pledges follow five Peas Please pledgers (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Co-op and Lidl) committing to add value to the government’s Healthy Start voucher scheme as part of supporting the Marcus Rashford End Child Food Poverty Taskforce and their Peas Please commitments.
In total, seven UK retailers added value to the voucher scheme for young, pregnant women, and low income families with children aged under four, offering coupons or topping up the value of the vouchers for fruit and veg and other essentials in the interim period before the value increased this April.
Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said:
It is great to see 100 major food businesses commit to increasing veg consumption to support better health for millions of people.
“Transparent and regular reporting against targets is vital if we are to turn the tide on our current dietary crisis and see future generations face a better, and healthier future, with everyone having access to an affordable and sustainable diet,” she concluded.
