By Kara Pifer
How many ways can I say “Hip Hip Hooray!” for news I found while looking through articles this week? Well, only one because I am far from bilingual, but in English I will again state “Hip Hip Hooray!” Why am I so excited? Well, I am sure that my happiness is shared among many dietitians and parents alike. There are numerous articles outlining the increases in obesity, especially childhood obesity and hardly any of these articles really discuss ways that people or organizations are helping. Finally, I have found a cheerful article that discusses one such approach to the childhood obesity epidemic.
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is a “part of the initiative by USDA to offer schools a wider variety of fresh produce than would be available through normal USDA purchases” according to the USDA website. The project began with the launch in only a small number of school districts in 1995 and due to the favorable responses, the program opened to any school district interested that followed the requirements in the year following the launch.
The program has been such a success that this upcoming year will show a $48 million increase in funding which is a 40% increase from this past year. The funding for this program alone is up to $158 million! One article even states that this will allow every state to “add another 50% more schools” as the program initially focused on low income schools. This is absolutely incredible! Personally I wish that my K-12 school had offered more fresh fruits and veggies versus the canned (in syrup) stuff that I ate every day! I currently volunteer as a "Lunch Buddy" through my University which is a program where children in elementary schools get paired with a college student to eat lunch with and play at recess with. We promote healthy choices and activity during recess and it’s quite an incredible program. While at the elementary school, I have noticed that there are many more options of fresh produce than when I was a child. On any given day there is at least one fresh fruit and two fresh veggies along with either a canned fruit (unsure if in syrup or water) or applesauce. I think that these are absolutely wonderful choices! Especially compared to what I and many other people my age grew up with in the cafeteria! What have been your experiences with “fresh” or not so “fresh” produce all throughout your schooling? Is anyone currently working in the K-12 food system and can share any experiences from that standpoint? Also, has anyone had any experiences with their children involving fresh produce? Do you make sure that they have a variety of fruits and vegetables in their diet? I have noticed in my own experience that kids tend to be picky when it comes to produce if they were not introduced early in life to a multitude of fruits and vegetables. Throughout the school year, students eat a fairly small variety of foods within school grounds based on school menus that I have encountered. Thankfully with this program, the students are receiving not only a greater variety of food in general, but a variety of fresh foods that include a large amount of vitamins and minerals. According to “The Packer,” each student receives an average of $50-$75 worth of fresh produce per year with the instillation of this program in elementary schools. Although this may not seem like a large amount, it is more fresh produce than students were allotted in the past and hopefully, the budget will continue to grow and help provide fresh produce to many more children around the country.
Articles on this subject:
For information about the history of the program: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/dod/DoD_FreshFruitandVegetableProgram.pdf
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