Vancouver — Mangos, blackberries, rainbow carrots, mini sweet peppers and star fruit are some of the fresh fruits and vegetables students will be snacking on at five elementary schools in Vancouver Public Schools this year, thanks to a $120,350 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Four days a week, students at Fruit Valley, Martin Luther King, Peter S. Ogden, Eleanor Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools will be offered a fresh fruit or vegetable snack in their classrooms.
This is the sixth year the district has participated in the program. Since the 2010-11 school year, the district has received almost $600,000 to provide fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to all students enrolled in qualifying schools. In these five schools, at least 74.8 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, said Mari Ovens, director, of the district’s nutrition services.
One goal of the program is to introduce students to fruits and vegetables they may not otherwise have an opportunity to try. The program also is considered an important catalyst in combatting childhood obesity by teaching healthful eating habits.
