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Farm Fare: Schools get nutrition grants
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Published: May 29, 2008
MOUNT AIRY
Come next school year, two area elementary schools will be offering fruits and vegetables in classrooms, hallways and near buses to turn children on to healthier snacks.
The program at White Plains Elementary School in Surry County and Blue Ridge Elementary School in Ashe County -- part of a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- is aimed at improving children's nutrition.
"It'll be something the kids will take beyond the school day, and we hope will help them make better choices," said Janet Atkins, the principal at White Plains Elementary.
The grant was awarded to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, which will distribute the money to 25 elementary schools next school year. Priority was given to those schools where at least 50 percent of children eat free or reduced meals.
It comes at a time when child-nutrition programs across North Carolina are hurting financially because of increasing food costs, state officials said. The price of gas is pushing up costs, and nutrition standards are higher. Because of this, Surry County Schools expects a shortfall in its annual budget for child nutrition, said Jennifer Scott, a spokeswoman for the department.
Elementary schools are already expected to provide healthier meals with fewer sweets, said Lisa Nave, an assistant principal at Blue Ridge Elementary.
"You're supposed to have choices of two vegetables or fruit, an entrée. You try to pick the best things," Nave said.
Blue Ridge Elementary is in an area in western Ashe County where many children get most of their meals at school. It's estimated that 70 percent of 548 students in grades pre-kindergarten through sixth at Blue Ridge qualify for free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch. About 150 students take home bags of food donated by a local ministry each week.
"Those children do not get the appropriate foods at the grocery stores," Nave said. "Just the basic fruits are so expensive …grapes, apples, strawberries.… It's cheaper to buy the pack of cookies that's 99 cents."
Some of the teachers at Blue Ridge Elementary buy snacks for the children because they know the children can't afford them, she said.
The USDA's fresh-fruit-and-vegetables program is expected to dramatically change snack time at the school, Nave said. Teachers and administrators will be able to make sure that no child is going hungry. "And if they're full, they'll be able to learn better," she said.
Classroom performance and student behavior has improved in schools that have the program, said Lynn Hoggard, the state public-instruction department's director of child-nutrition services.
"Students in these schools have more energy and are less likely to fall asleep in class. These schools also have reported a decrease in absenteeism," Hoggard said.
Schools involved in the program will still have to provide a variety of fruits and vegetables at meal times. "These snacks are not intended to supplement the breakfast or lunch program," she said.
Schools are expected to buy fruits and vegetables from local vendors and teach their students about nutrition.
At White Plains Elementary, teachers will include nutrition in the curriculum, with five- to 10-minute lessons throughout the week in every grade level, Atkins said.
The schools don't know how much money they will get for the program. They may need to hire employees to cut up and distribute the fresh fruit and vegetables.
This is the fifth year that North Carolina public schools have participated in the USDA's program. With the passage of the farm bill in Congress last week, the program was expanded to allow North Carolina to provide the program in 35 elementary schools in 2009.
The schools that participated last year will not be eligible for the money next school year. But state officials say they hope that some systems will choose to keep offering the fruits and vegetables.
Another Ashe County school, Mountain View Elementary, received money for the program this school year but is not expected to be able to pay for it on its own next year, Nave said.
"They can't afford it," she said.
■ Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at 336-789-9338 or at
syoungquist@wsjournal.com.
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