A Jersey politician has suggested the government may have overlooked a thing or two - namely, the cost-of-living crisis - when it decided to end a trial providing free fruit to primary school children. Deputy Louise Doublet said: "To have that taken away at a time when the cost of living is still increasing I think has been quite hard for some families." In other news, water remains wet.

Since 2024, children at four primary schools have received apples, bananas, and other fruit under the pilot scheme. The education minister ended the trial because not enough children were eating the fruit, and it was leading to a lot of wastage. A bold stance: if kids won't eat the bananas, by gosh, no one will.

The Government of Jersey has been approached for a comment. It announced in September that fresh fruit would be included in a school food programme providing hot school meals for government primary schools. Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning Catherine Curtis previously said the free fruit scheme was leading to "a lot of wastage" and that parents "actually asked" for fruit to be incorporated into the school food programme instead. Parents, it turns out, are full of surprises.

The topic was debated in the States Assembly on 29 September. Doublet said the minister had responded to her questions in the assembly "centred around the evidence" and informed the assembly that the scheme "hadn't resulted in much of an increase in children actually consuming fruit and vegetables - and I do accept that." Evidence: the perennial buzzkill of policy debates.

But Doublet added she did not think the benefits in terms of cost of living were measured by the scheme. "Personally I would like to see more investment in healthy food, especially if it's locally grown food, to help families with the cost of living," she said. A radical proposal: food that helps people afford food.

When asked about the contract with UK company Apetito Limited to provide hot school meals for government primary schools across Jersey, she said it was the "best available option." She added she understood people's concerns around the freshness of the food, but her "understanding is that the meals are actually frozen rather than artificially preserved." Comforting clarification: frozen, not Frankenstein.

"I would like to see these funded meals extended further because it hits the cost of living for parents and... provides healthy meals for children," she said. A novel concept: feeding children well and saving families money. Who could have guessed?