We’re delighted to share the latest Doctor’s Kitchen podcast episode featuring our CEO, Jonathan Pauling, discussing the importance of fruit & veg in every diet and the vital need for this to be affordable and available for all.
The discussion covers a critical element of both our Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Project and Fruit & Veg on Prescription Project, asking why people aren’t eating enough fruit and veg. How do people become “overfed and undernourished”? Would more education on what a healthy diet looks like help, or is the problem far more that people simply cannot afford a healthy diet when calories from unhealthy food are twice as cheap as those from healthy alternatives?
Listen to the full podcast below.
As Jonathan importantly states, whilst we recognise that some nutritional education can help improve diets, ultimately, it is all about affordability. We know this because at Alexandra Rose Charity, we’ve been giving out Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg for over a decade, and when people have the money to buy fruit and veg, the amount they eat increases dramatically.
64% of children from families receiving Rose Vouchers are now eating at least five portions of fruit & veg a day, up from just 7% before joining the project.
Healthy food is not always affordable or available, and as Jonathan shares, “It’s the people with the lowest income in the UK who have the poorest consumption of fruit and veg. And it’s people on lower incomes who have a higher rate and a higher prevalence of food-related ill health.”
Join Jonathan and Dr Rupy as they discuss why projects such as our Rose Vouchers if scaled, could help millions, reduce the strain on our health system, and make healthier food accessible for all.