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Teaching kids a healthier way to eat
- By William Lewis
- Published 02/10/2009
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TOPPENISH — Students at Toppenish’s Kirkwood Elementary now enjoy a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables as a mid-day snack thanks to a $32,249 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program aims to combat childhood obesity by helping children learn more healthful eating habits. Under the program, participating schools receive reimbursement for the costs of making fresh fruits and vegetables free to students under the condition that they are provided separate from lunch or breakfast school meals. “These fruit and vegetables are not for the meal. It’s a mid-morning energy burst they get from fruits and vegetables to make it to lunchtime,” said Toppenish School District Coordinator Renee Miles.
“It’s because we’re a low income school district. Our whole district can get the grant—the whole district can apply, but only one school in the district can get it at a time” Miles added. “We’re bringing about half of ours from Waldman Produce. The other half comes from food services of America in Kent.”
Every day Kirkwood Elementary cook Marylyn Alcala mixes the produce in a variety of fruit and vegetable combinations for the students to pick up after their 10 a.m. recess and each student of every classroom receives an individualized bag for a snack.
“I’ve seen Marylyn put grape, tomatoes and cauliflower in a bag or peppers with red and yellow peppers and combinations of spinach and tomatoes together,” Miles said. “Some might even get a bag with watermelon, a pepper and a carrot, all in one.”
The program aims not only to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption, but also to expand the variety of fruits and vegetables that the children experience such as the jicama, also known as a Mexican potato.
“The jicama—it has a sweet flavor, kind of mild like a sweet vegetable and not as strong as a pepper,” Miles said. “The whole idea is to introduce new items to the kids—things that they might not buy in the store. Maybe they only buy apples or bananas in the grocery store. This way, they can try new things they like.”
The program was at Lincoln Elementary in 2004-05 as well as 2005-06.
“It’s been at Lincoln in the past. The teachers there said the students had much better concentration. Lincoln wanted to give the other schools a chance,” Miles said.
The grant program started in June 2008 and the full $32,249 in funds must be spent by July 2009
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program aims to combat childhood obesity by helping children learn more healthful eating habits. Under the program, participating schools receive reimbursement for the costs of making fresh fruits and vegetables free to students under the condition that they are provided separate from lunch or breakfast school meals. “These fruit and vegetables are not for the meal. It’s a mid-morning energy burst they get from fruits and vegetables to make it to lunchtime,” said Toppenish School District Coordinator Renee Miles.
“It’s because we’re a low income school district. Our whole district can get the grant—the whole district can apply, but only one school in the district can get it at a time” Miles added. “We’re bringing about half of ours from Waldman Produce. The other half comes from food services of America in Kent.”
Every day Kirkwood Elementary cook Marylyn Alcala mixes the produce in a variety of fruit and vegetable combinations for the students to pick up after their 10 a.m. recess and each student of every classroom receives an individualized bag for a snack.
“I’ve seen Marylyn put grape, tomatoes and cauliflower in a bag or peppers with red and yellow peppers and combinations of spinach and tomatoes together,” Miles said. “Some might even get a bag with watermelon, a pepper and a carrot, all in one.”
The program aims not only to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption, but also to expand the variety of fruits and vegetables that the children experience such as the jicama, also known as a Mexican potato.
“The jicama—it has a sweet flavor, kind of mild like a sweet vegetable and not as strong as a pepper,” Miles said. “The whole idea is to introduce new items to the kids—things that they might not buy in the store. Maybe they only buy apples or bananas in the grocery store. This way, they can try new things they like.”
The program was at Lincoln Elementary in 2004-05 as well as 2005-06.
“It’s been at Lincoln in the past. The teachers there said the students had much better concentration. Lincoln wanted to give the other schools a chance,” Miles said.
The grant program started in June 2008 and the full $32,249 in funds must be spent by July 2009