FEARS are growing for the future of free fruit for thousands of Edinburgh's primary children after the charity which delivers it plunged into a funding crisis.
Edinburgh Community Food Initiative (ECFI) has been running healthy eating programmes in nurseries, primary schools and communities for ten years.
But now the charity's Snack Attack programme, which provides fruit to primary children, is under th
reat because the council has not confirmed funding beyond April 1.
Bosses at the charity are writing to the 102 primary schools and special needs schools it supports to advise them that the service for P3-P7 pupils may have to fold.
There are also fears that the healthy eating charity will have to lay off more than half of its 20 staff by March 1 - in order to give workers a month's notice.
ECFI is the biggest community food project in the UK and gets funding from the council's children and families department to run its range of specialist programmes.
The Snack Attack programme has been providing free fruit three times a week for P1-P7 pupils in Edinburgh's primary schools for the last seven years.
It cost £315,000 to run last year, delivering up to 23 different kinds of fruit.
Project workers also do workshops on healthy eating and run activities such as planting apple trees in school gardens.
The Scottish Executive has guaranteed free fruit for children in P1 and P2 for the last three years and this service has been put out to tender. However, free fruit for the older children in P3-P7 in Edinburgh's primaries will cease on March 31 if council funding is not confirmed.
Workers at the ECFI said they had been trying to confirm continued funding with the council since last September, but had received no response.
Nuala Roger, Snack Attack development worker, said it flew in the face of common sense that a project shown to do such effective work should find itself in such unnecessary difficulties.
She said: "The Scottish Executive provide fruit for P1 and P2 children and will continue to do so. It is all very well to encourage children to have good habits but if the service isn't continued there is no reason for them to keep up their healthy eating.
"It's the kids in the priority areas who will lose out most. They value the service and are most likely not to get it at home."
Ms Roger, whose tasks include educating children on why they should eat five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day and showing them how to make smoothies, added that she was very worried for her job, and those of others in the charity.
"I'm very worried that our jobs could end. It's the not knowing that's the worst."
Lib Dem education spokeswoman, Councillor Liz O'Malley, said she was concerned for children's health if the project ended and for the jobs of Snack Attack workers.
She said: "We are so committed to giving our children a healthy start that anything to stop that happening would be a real concern to me.
"I'm also concerned that people have been left worrying about their futures because the decision has been deferred for so long."
City education leader Cllr Andrew Burns said no decision had been made as yet.
He said: "We are currently reviewing the Snack Attack initiative and the Fruit in Schools Scottish Executive programme is out to tender."
