Effect of Ending the Nationwide Free School Fruit Scheme on the Intake of Fruits, Vegetables, and Unhealthy Snacks in Norwegian School Children Aged 10–12 Years

The Norwegian authorities started a nationwide free school fruit program in 2007, implemented in all secondary schools (grades 8–10) and combined schools (grades 1–10) in Norway. The program ended in 2014. This study evaluates the effect of ending the nationwide free school fruit program on the consumption of fruit, vegetables, and unhealthy snacks among Norwegian sixth and seventh graders. The study sample consists of pupils at 18 schools that participated in all data collections in the Fruits and Vegetables Make the Marks project (FVMM), initiated in 2001, with new data collections in 2008 and 2018. Four of the schools were combined schools, therefore children in sixth and seventh grade a…