More children and young adults will be eating their greens after a district-wide community health initiative received a lottery cash boost.

Almost £300,000 has been allocated to promote healthy eating through a project administered by the Shipley-based North Bradford Primary Care Trust and the Airedale Primary Care Trust, based in Keighley.

The cash injection - which health bosses describe as "fantastic news" - will be channelled through the Bradford Food Network to help children and young adults across the entire district.

The sum - from the lottery good cause distributors, the New Opportunities Fund - is intended to help fund a two-year scheme that includes a range of activities to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among these two groups of people. Its long-term aim is to prevent heart disease, cancer and strokes.

Covering the district's four primary care trusts - North Bradford, City, South and West Bradford, and Airedale - the activities will include a media campaign, drama productions, food co-ops and cook and eat classes. They will take place in a range of settings including primary schools and residential care homes.

The project, which has been running successfully for two years and is called "I matter, you matter, food matters: five-a-day with young children and adults in Bradford," follows the Five-a-day message to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day. A portion is approximately 80 grams or three ounces, equivalent to a glass of fruit juice, a banana, a bowl of salad or three tablespoons of peas.

Organisers say the cash will be mean a great deal to health professionals, who will be able to build up more skills and have more time to make the initiatives even more of a success. "It is fantastic news," said Nigel Hughes, public health and children's services manager for Airedale Primary Care Trust. "People such as school nurses will be very pleased as it will allow them to increase their skills in this area." He added: "The scheme is about, for instance, getting children to think that instead of taking chocolate to school they could take some fruit, and getting schools to stock fruit and vegetables at the tuck shop instead of sweets."

The project also educates people about farmers' markets, co-ops and allotments. "It is not just about cooking and eating healthily, but how to get hold of certain foods. It is not just a case of going to schools with a box of fruit and veg."

The lottery cash forms part of handouts totalling nearly £1.3 million to nine healthy eating schemes across Yorkshire and Humberside.