Apr 19

Apr 19 Snack program aims to move fresh fruits and vegetables onto students’ list of favorites

Arianna Munn, a first grader at Pink Hill Elementary School, takes a brave bite from a radish slice, the featured item on a recent Tuesday in the district’s fresh fruit and vegetable snack program. The federally assisted program for elementary schools aims to boost nutritional awareness among young students and move kiwi, carrots and other unprocessed treats higher on their list of favorites.

In snack-sized servings, hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables are flowing into LCPS elementary classrooms each week in a program designed to boost nutritional awareness among young students and move kiwi, carrots and other unprocessed treats higher on their list of favorites.

The federally assisted Freh Fruit and Vegetable Program is operating in 212 schools and 30 school districts across the state and returned to LCPS this school year with the enthusiastic support of school nutrition staff and elementary school administrators and teachers.

“Students are learning about fruits and vegetables they may have not tried before and certainly the program supplements the produce they get at home,” Danelle Turner, LCPS’s director of school nutrition, said. “I’m hoping that with something like jicama, they’ll learn what it is and talk about it with their parents and when they see it in the grocery store, they’ll take it home.”

Jicama, which crunches like an apple and is a nice addition to a salad, comes from Mexico. Kiwi, which looks a lot like a hairy brown egg until you slice out its sweet green fruit, is a prized product of New Zealand. Cucumbers are 96 percent water and help keep your cholesterol in trim. The only fruit that has it seeds on the outer skin is the strawberry.

With fun facts like these, provided teachers by the district’s school nutrition department, snack time on Tuesdays and Thursdays becomes learning time.

“The hope is that, as the years go by, when these students go to middle school and high school and we have salad bars in the cafeterias, that they know what these fruits and vegetables are on the salad bar and they’ll take that,” Turner said. “You want their intake for fruits and vegetables to increase as they get older.”

February’s menu for K-5 classes ran the gamut from blood orange wedges to broccoli florets, from cantaloupe chunks to celery sticks. LCPS sources the fruits and vegetables through its Raleigh-based produce provider, which relies on area farmers when possible.

The fruits and vegetables purchased with snack program funds must be in addition to those served as part of the school breakfast and lunch programs, according to state guidelines.

On a recent Tuesday morning at Pink Hill Elementary, radish coins were on the menu. First-grade teacher Katie Beth Hill gave her students the facts about radishes – crisp texture, a little bit spicy, a root vegetable that comes in several sizes and colors and can be eaten raw or cooked.

“Okay, give it a smell. Go ahead and try it,” Hill called out encouragingly.

It was hard sell. Students sniffed and nibbled warily. Generally, the radish slices got good marks for being crisp, but for taste, not so much. Still, it was a learning experience for students – and one LCPS plans to build on next school year.

The district offered the snack program for several years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which closed schools and turned cafeterias into takeout sites and delivery services. Amid such unusual and extra duties, LCPS paused the program. The district decided to revive it this school year when elementary principals and cafeteria staff indicated their support.

“I’ve asked the principals and they all want to do it again next year,” Turner said. “It’s been a very big positive ‘yes,’ so I’m excited about that.”

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