Cut-price fruit and vegetables will be offered to thousands of people in Sussex to promote healthy eating.

Residents in Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill will benefit from the £362,000 healthy initiative which aims to get people eating fresh, local produce.

The Community Fruit and Veg Project offers affordable and locally grown fruit and vegetables through a delivery service and markets.

The project, which is based in Hastings, was set up as part of Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust's "five a day" programme, which aims to help residents eat more healthily.

People who take part in the scheme can receive a fruit and vegetable bag, including at least five different varieties, for £2.80, or £2 for the elderly.

This can be paid for using the Government's Healthy Start vouchers.

Fruit and vegetable boxes, including recipes and healthy eating information, are also sold for £7.

The grant will be paid over a fiveyear period and with its first installment of £101,000 the project's organisers plan to buy a refrigerated van that will act as a mobile shop to help the group visit more rural and urban areas.

Neil Sadler, the Community Fruit and Veg Project's manager, said: "We are thrilled by the fantastic news of the grant. We need this money to expand and now the real work begins."

He added: "This is not about being in competition with greengrocers or supermarkets. This is about education, availability and affordability in areas that are hard to reach."

The grant from the Big Lottery Fund's Reaching Communities programme, which supports projects that improve the lives of people across England, will fund the scheme for another five years, by which time the non-profit organisation hopes to be self-sustainable.

Alison Rowe, Big Lottery Fund head in the South East, said: "These projects are excellent examples of how the Reaching Communities programme is supporting local communities across the region. Whether it be helping the vulnerable back to work or providing healthy food for the disadvantaged, isolated, or those on low incomes, the funding will offer better chances in life and ultimately work to create stronger communities."

For more information about the Community Fruit and Veg Project call 01424 201137.

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