Millions of children across the EU will receive milk, fruit and vegetables under the EU's School Scheme in 2019/2020. This programme reached over 20 million children across the EU during the school year 2017/2018.
The national budget allocations for the EU school fruit, vegetable and milk schemes for the 2019/2020 school year has been adopted now. €145 million is set aside for fruit and vegetables, and €105 million for milk and other dairy products. The distribution programme is complemented by educational measures that teach children about agriculture and promotes healthy eating.
Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan said: "Thanks to the EU School Scheme, our young citizens can benefit from the nutritious, safe and high quality food that our European farmers produce, while also learning about where it comes from. The Commission is proud to contribute to this important educational journey, establishing healthy habits from a young age."
The Commission also published an evaluation report which shows that for the 2017/2018 school year, around 159,000 schools participated in the EU School Scheme. During that time, a total of 255,500 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables and 178 million litres of milk were distributed to European children thanks to more than €182 million from the EU budget.