West Fannin Elementary School students and staff have the opportunity to try new fruits and vegetables all year long thanks to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Grant.
The program is a federally assisted and provides funding for free fresh fruits and vegetables to children at eligible elementary schools during the school day. In order to be eligible, schools must operate the National School Lunch Program, and USDA prioritizes schools with the highest percentage of children certified as eligible for free and reduced meals. West Fannin’s free and reduced lunch rate is currently listed at 65.77%.
The goal of the program is to provide fresh produce to children who may have fewer opportunities to consume fresh produce on a regular basis while also introducing students to different varieties of fruits and vegetables to increase overall acceptance and consumption of fresh produce.
“It’s really just a program that exposes children from low income families to more of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables because once they are exposed and they like it, then they’re going to eat it,” School System Director of School Nutrition Candice Sisson said. “A lot of those families don’t have funding to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for their homes. So, it gives them the chance to try some new things.”
Students at West Fannin are loving the program so far and receive some fruit or vegetable at the end of the school day every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“You get a surplus of money, and you can decide how often you want to do the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Principal Alison Danner said. “It’s so that they can try unique fruits and vegetables, not just your typical. You can choose to do it however many days a week, but the more you do it a week, your money runs out sooner. That’s the reason we decided to do it three times a week so that way we can do it all year.”
Each school has the flexibility to decide which produce is served. So far, the students have tried heirloom tomatoes, pluots, mixed berries and more.
Schools are encouraged to serve a variety of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. The program requires that the produce must be served in a way that is easily identifiable so children are encouraged to enjoy fruits and vegetables “as they are.”