Uk: school co-op. creates healthier future for its pupils

St Matthews Primary School in Belfast, located in one of the most socially and economically deprived areas in the north of Ireland, have set up a food co-operative with all schoolchildren on the school register enrolled as members in order to improve the health of its pupils.

The co-operative has developed a positive supplier/retailer relationship with a local fruit supplier and negotiated a deal on the price of an individual piece of fruit. The fruit purchased must be demonstrated to have come from fair trade producers.

The price of purchase by schoolchildren is set at 20p per item. The school?s price remains static and the process has the advantage of ensuring that the fruit is always freshly delivered two or three times a week and of the highest quality.

As a result of initial successes in years one and two, which saw sales of on average 22,000 pieces of fruit in the school year, the school co-operative has moved on to the next phase of development. Profit generated from the co-operative is ploughed back into a savings scheme (based upon the credit union model of savings and investment).

The profits from last year?s sale of 20,000 items of fruit, approximately £1,700, will allow for the school to register an opening balance of around £5 in a savings account for each and every child. Year on year the profits will be re-invested in the children through the saving scheme in which they will be encouraged to save independently of the school co-operative?s contribution.
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