Tesco to hand out free fruit to children across 800 UK stores

Great news for supermarket shoppers!

Tesco have announced they'll be handing out free fruit to shoppers' children in 800 stores across the UK.

The supermarket giant - the UK's biggest - successfully trialled the initiative in Scotland last year, and it proved so popular that Tesco will now begin to offer a selection of apples, citrus fruit and bananas for parents to pick up for their kids at the start of their shopping trip.

The idea, which aims to encourage healthy eating habits and is sure to please mums and dads across the country, was first thought up by checkout assistant Maria Simpson, who works in a Lincolnshire store.

She explained that often sweets are a last resort for stressed out parents while shopping, but handing out free fruit to children would provide a healthy alternative.

After suggesting the idea, it was then trialled in Scotland to see how it might work on a bigger scale.

Matt Davies, Tesco CEO for UK and ROI, confirmed the news and the reasons behind the initiative: 'As a dad, I know it can be tricky getting children to eat their fruit and vegetables.

'We're hoping this initiative will help create healthy eating habits that will stay with children as they grow up.'

This isn't the first time Tesco have taken steps to promote healthier choices. Two years ago they became the first big supermarket to remove sweets and chocolates from their checkouts, and in 2015 they revealed all the children's lunchbox-sized soft drinks they sell would have no added sugar.

When the trail was originally announced we asked you if you'd like to see it rolled out further, and it's clear this is something you'd all like to see in your local supermarket!

One GoodtoKnow Facebook user wrote: 'I think this is a brilliant idea by Tesco and any other supermarket that does this and it helps to learn kids to eat healthily!' while another added: 'Kids always get hungry whilst shopping, rather than eating junk food why not have some fruit.

What do you think of Tesco's new free fruit initiative - would it sway you to shop there more? Let us know in the comments below!