Peas Please sets out to veg-ducate the UK, thanks to £1.6 million funding from The National Lottery Community Fund

Peas Please, a nationwide initiative, has received £1.6 million of National Lottery funding, to encourage communities across the UK to consume more than a billion additional portions of vegetables by 2023.

With the support from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, Peas Please will be driving change in the food industry to make it easier for the public, particularly those on a low income, to eat more vegetables. The initiative will be delivered by the charity The Food Foundation in partnership with Nourish Scotland, Food Sense Wales, Food NI and Belfast Food Network.

Through this partnership, Peas Please will bring together businesses and brands across the food system to secure commitments to improve the availability, affordability and quality of vegetables offered in supermarkets, shops, schools, pubs, fast food outlets and businesses. The campaign plans to do this with a new generation of Veg Advocates, volunteers working alongside food charities to encourage more vegetable consumption in their local community.

Since Peas Please launched in 2016, it has secured nearly 100 pledges of action from businesses operating along the supply chain and commitments from 21 city partnerships. The Progress Report^[i] demonstrates that 90 million additional portions of vegetables have been consumed as a result of the initiative. The programme also initiated the Veg Power Fund, which has just launched a vegetable advertising campaign, in partnership with ITV, aimed at school children.

John Knights, Senior Head of UK Portfolio at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We are delighted to fund Peas Please, who will be working together with brands and businesses across the food industry to increase vegetable consumption. Thanks to National Lottery players we are able to fund this great initiative, which will encourage and support communities across the UK to make healthier food choices and thrive.”

Anna Taylor, Executive Director at The Food Foundation, said: “We are completely thrilled that National Lottery funding will support Peas Please. This will mean we can take the impact we have achieved so far to a much greater scale – reaching and involving citizens all over the UK.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year it awarded £1.4 million a day on average to projects that help people and communities thrive.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

^[i]Peas Please Progress report, 2019