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6. CONCLUSIONS
Both local authority professionals and school staff members perceived that the national Free Fruit in Schools initiative had been very successful. Indeed, it was argued that it was one of the most successful initiatives of its kind, and that it should be allowed to continue. The views of the vast majority of respondents was that the initiative had resulted in an increased consumption of fruit and an improvement in healthy eating practices more generally in pupils attending schools of different sizes, serving catchment areas from the relatively affluent to the relatively deprived, and from urban to rural settings. For example, 90% of school respondents thought that the initiative had brought about an improvement in general eating habits, and almost 60% perceived that pupils were now consuming more fruit and vegetables as part of their school meals. The most popular suggested modification for the initiative was not for a radical overhaul of its operation, but for its extension to cover more pupils on a more frequent basis. Similarly, one of the few complaints from a minority of local authority respondents was that the money provided by the Scottish Executive for the initiative was not always adequate, especially in that they wanted to cover more pupil years, or improve other elements of the scheme, such as providing a wider variety of fruit.
A minority of local authority and school respondents held more negative views. It was said that the initiative was disruptive for schools, the fruit supplied to schools was not always of the highest quality, the storage facilities within schools were not always adequate and school staff should be paid to compensate them for preparing and distributing the fruit. However, the overwhelming consensus was that problems were more common in the early phase of the initiative, and that once these difficulties were addressed a routine had been established which allowed the smooth operation of the scheme. In addition, it was also emphasised that such minor difficulties were a price worth paying as the benefits of the initiative far outweighed any negative features. It should be noted that not one local authority respondent thought that the initiative should not continue, and only 5 schools (1%) called for the end of the initiative.
Of course, the research only sought the perceptions of local authority and school-based staff, and did not gather the views of pupils and parents or carers. In addition, it was at times difficult to separate the potential impact due to the free fruit initiative and wider policy initiatives, such as Hungry for Success. A minority of respondents argued that the positive effects they had observed were due to a number of factors, and not just the free fruit initiative. Again, though, the broad consensus was that the free fruit initiative had been very successful, and many respondents perceived that the positive impact they observed in relation to the eating behaviour of the pupils was due in no small measure to the initiative alone.
Due to the overwhelmingly positive reception to the initiative, it is actually quite difficult to make recommendations as to how it should operate in the future. Certainly, major modifications would not appear to be necessary. However, the changes suggested by the respondents tended to call for an expansion of the initiative. Therefore, the provision of free fruit to all or more primary years, or the provision of fruit on a more frequent basis, would find the support of a majority of respondents in this study. Obviously, though, most of the suggested changes would have significant cost implications to the Scottish Executive, and it is beyond the scope of this evaluation to make such recommendations. What is clear, though, is that the Free Fruit initiative has been very favourably received by local authority and school staff, it has been thought to be responsible for increasing fruit consumption and encouraging the adoption of more healthy eating practices in children living in communities of different socioeconomic status across Scotland and is valued very highly at both the local authority and school level alike.
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