Peas Please

Peas Please is a UK-wide initiative run by project partners The Food Foundation, Nourish Scotland, Food Sense Wales, Food NI, and Belfast Food Network. The initiative brings together partners from across the food system with the common goal of increasing vegetable consumption, with a focus on low-income groups and children. Peas Please | Making a pledge for more veg

It's never been more important to improve the health of the Scottish population. To do this we need to make sure that everyone has access to healthy and affordable food. Not everyone has the same access to healthy foods like vegetables. There are a variety of barriers for some, including rising food prices, a lack of healthy options and unequal access to grocery stores.  As a result, our diets are typically low in vegetables. Evidence suggests intakes of vegetables in Scotland are lower than the UK as a whole.   

Read the Food Foundation’s ‘Veg Facts 2021’ for more statistics on vegetable consumption in the UK.

The Peas Please initiative works towards making vegetables more readily available, accessible and appealing. A pledge is a commitment to support people to eat more vegetables. Pledging should be simple, measurable and meaningful as small changes can have a large impact.

Becoming a Peas Please pledger shows that your  organisation is committed to good health and responsible corporate sponsorship. The initiative can also be used to support sustainability initiatives, environmental targets and accreditations such as ISO14001. The Peas Please Awards reward successful pledgers and are regularly covered in the national and trade press.  

Interested in pledging?

To discuss becoming a pledger please contact peasplease@nourishscotland.org.uk and mention Food Standards Scotland. 

Did you know?

110 organisations have made a pledge to help consumers eat more vegetables.

Our commitment

Food Standards Scotland became official pledgers of the Peas Please initiative in 2022 as a systems influencer. Making a Peas Please pledge complements the work of Food Standards Scotland by supporting consumers to have healthier diets and empowering consumers to make positive choices about food.

We are committed to the support and promotion of the Peas Please initiative in the following ways:

•  Have conversations about Peas Please with our stakeholders and with consumers.

• Help create opportunities for direct engagement with Peas Please by signposting from our online content.  

• Continue to promote eating more vegetables in our consumer messaging on healthy and sustainable eating.

• Promote Peas Please in our guidance to businesses, as appropriate. For example, as part of the forthcoming code of practice on children’s menus.

• Work with Veg Advocates to help gather evidence for future guidance, including the development of the children's menus code of practice.

• General advocacy to include Peas Please within relevant advisory boards and steering group meetings, as appropriate.

Find out more about the Peas Please initiative and read the most recent progress report.

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