<p>The fruit phenomenon is continuing to pick up momentum on a global scale. McDonald’s recently announced the launch of a campaign to give away <b>free fruit across 19 European countries.</b> All of the company’s European markets already offer fruit menu items but this is the first time a pan-European campaign has been launched of this magnitude, according to a press release. Participating countries are: Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and Ukraine.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">As foodservice continues to implement more fresh produce into its menus, the company is certainly increasing its global commitment to ramp up access to fruit and vegetables while making them a fun and appealing choice for children.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Lisa McComb, Director, McDonald’s U.S. Media Relations, tells AndNowUKnow, “McDonald’s USA shares Europe’s commitment to make it easier for children to enjoy more fruit in their diet. In March of 2012, we began to automatically include apple slices in each Happy Meal and since then have served more than 770 million cups of apples to our youngest guests. A study released in the March Issue of Obesity Journal concluded that automatically including apple slices alongside familiar favorites, like French fries, in the Happy Meal may reinforce to children that produce is a normal, or even expected, side item during a meal.” </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The campaign builds on the success of a major initiative in France and kicked¬‐off on March 7th in the UK with “Free Fruit Fridays” and will be followed by the launch of “Fruchtiger Mittwoch” (Fruity Wednesday) in Germany on April 2nd. The promo is slated to cover up to 84 per cent of all McDonald’s restaurants in Europe this year. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Pierre Woreczek, Senior Vice President, Chief Brand & Strategy Officer, McDonald’s Europe, stated, “Parents tell us that it can be a challenge to get children to eat fruit and vegetables so we want to help to make fruit more accessible, affordable and appealing. One of the most powerful things we can do at McDonald’s is to make eating fruit and veg fun, for example, by using our brand and licensed characters on packaging. We also try to present fruit creatively – for example, kiwi on stick – which makes it easier and more exciting for kids to eat and hold. All our restaurants already offer fruit or vegetables and many have done this for over a decade so this campaign just takes our commitment one step further.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>McDonald’s announced a global commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2013, in partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, pledging to increase customers’ access to fruit and vegetables and a wider choice of drinks, to increase awareness of the availability of these menu items and to help families and children to make informed choices in keeping with balanced lifestyles.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Free fruit giveaways have also been previously trialled in McDonald’s Portugal, McDonald’s Italy and McDonald’s Malta. In Portugal for example, more than 650,000 portions of fruit have been given away since 2012. The type of fruit given away as part of this campaign will vary by country and seasonality. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.mcdpressoffice.eu" target="_new">McDonald’s EU</a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://news.mcdonalds.com/US?page=4" target="_new">McDonald’s US</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
