State-subsidised restaurants, fruit and veg vouchers and mobile greengrocer to help deprived households

Two state-subsidised restaurants, fresh fruit and vegetable vouchers, and a mobile greengrocer delivering nutritious food to deprived communities have been unveiled as part of government plans to support struggling households.

Six projects across the UK will share £8.5m in government funding in a bid to make good food more available to the people who need it.

Two state-subsidised restaurants are to open in Dundee and Nottingham next summer.

The eateries will provide "universal access" to nutritious and sustainably-produced food in social settings, and particularly meet the needs of deprived households with children, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said.

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Elsewhere, the Queen of Greens bus has been bringing affordable fresh fruit and vegetables to communities across Liverpool and Knowsley since 2022.

Funding will now be put towards a mapping tool which will help target the vehicle's route to ensure it reaches residents in social housing who may find it harder to access healthier options in their neighbourhoods.

In some areas, residents will receive vouchers from Alexandra Rose Charity to buy food from the bus.

Researchers will measure how diet and health changes as a result of the initiative and then use a computer model to predict the broader impacts if these interventions were rolled out across the country.

It follows the launch of the government's 10 Year Health Plan, which last week included the announcement that supermarkets could be fined if they do not sell healthier food.

Other projects will assess the role of community food markets in areas of Glasgow with limited access to grocery stores, known as "food deserts", surveying food pantry users to find out about other activities and support they would like to see on offer, such as cooking sessions or recipe boxes, and improving the nutritional content and take-up of free school meals.

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Mr Kyle said: "No one in this country should be left unable to access the healthy food they need - which is why interventions like the Queen of Greens are so important - and measuring their impact is so vital.

"These projects will draw on the power of research to actively explore the best ways to get healthy food into the mouths of those who need it, potentially having a transformational effect on people's lives, and fulfilling the missions set in our Plan for Change."