Healthy snack program expands mealtime options
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
NOAH WILLETTE, a kindergartner in Debbie Wright’s class at Pine Street Elementary School, enjoys a slice of watermelon that was recently served as part of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
Thanks to a USDA grant, healthy morning snacks will be offered to children in pre-K to grade 5 at both Pine Street and Zippel elementary schools three times a week.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE — Healthy snacks are now available three times a week to students at both Pine Street and Zippel elementary schools thanks to a USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) grant.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
ENJOYING A HEALTHY morning snack at Pine Street Elementary School are, from left: Damon Levesque and Braydon Abbott. The boys are students in Debbie Wright’s kindergarten class. Pine Street recently received a USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grant, which will allow healthy snacks to be given to the students three times a week.
“To qualify for the program, a school has to have more than 50 percent of its students participating in the Free and Reduced School Lunch Program,” said Kathy Allen, SAD 1 food services director. “Pine Street is at 59.55 percent, while Zippel is at 58.77 percent.
“The total grant is $15,700 at Pine Street and $17,400 at Zippel,” she said. “Regardless of their lunch status, each child in pre-K to grade 5 will be offered a healthy morning snack. Trays will be delivered by Food Services to designated areas in the school, and when it’s break time, the teacher will go get the tray and take it back to the classroom, open it and serve the snacks.”
Last year, only Pine Street was eligible for the program.
“We found that the children really liked it, all the kids looked forward to it and parents spoke very well of it,” said Allen. “It broadened the kids’ knowledge of fresh fruits and vegetables and they consumed more fresh fruits and vegetables. It was a positive program that everybody jumped on board with and really embraced and pushed forward.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
AN APPLE A DAY — Zippel Elementary School students, clockwise from left: Sydney Durepo, Deklan Curtis, Alex Harvath, Garrett Morneault, Miranda Drost and Julia Good enjoy apples grown on the SAD 1 Educational Farm as part of their healthy morning snacks served Tuesday. The students are fifth-graders in June Bagley’s class.
“We had applied last year for Zippel but it was right at the borderline in terms of the Free and Reduced School Lunch Program, so they were eliminated,” she said. “This year, they were a little farther up on the list and were able to get the benefit of the program.”
The healthy snacks were offered Tuesdays and Thursdays last year. This year they are being provided Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“We’ll offer the snacks three times a week until our funding is gone or that we see that we need to increase it to more days a week,” said Allen. “I would like to keep the program going until the end of May, and if we have any money left, I could do a few days in June.”
Among the fruits and vegetables being offered this year will include blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, star fruit, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and more.
“Next month, we’re going to try pluots. I didn’t know what it was but I saw it at Walmart so I picked it up and tried it at home and really liked it,” Allen said. “It’s a fruit and it’s a cross between a plum and an apricot. It has more of a plum texture, but it has a nice flavor and it’s not bitter like an apricot. It’s peachy colored. We’re going to try that Oct. 6.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
SHELBY JOHNSON, a fifth-grader in June Bagley’s class at Zippel Elementary School, was happy to snack on vegetables and dip Tuesday morning.
“We may also look at using the same fruit but in a different color like white watermelon,” she said. “Last year we found that fruits went better than vegetables, and that vegetables went better if they had a dip.”
The program will use locally grown foods, when possible.
“We’ll use the SAD 1 Educational Farm and area growers where we can,” said Holly Johnson, school health coordinator, “but it will be more difficult to purchase foods locally in the winter.”
It is not mandatory that children try the healthy snack.
“We encourage all students to at least try it, but we can’t make them try it,” said Allen. “If there’s more on the tray, those that want to can come back for seconds.
“Last year we had trouble with the star fruit because it was totally new to everybody and they didn’t really know what to do with it,” she said. “The first time we try something we have a little bit of difficulty like the kumquats. For example, as a child, your mother would probably say, ‘Don’t eat the peeling on that orange,’ but with a kumquat, you tell them to eat the peeling. The kids have to get used to that.”
Blake Blandon, a kindergartner in Debbie Wright’s class at Pine Street, recently enjoyed watermelon.
“I’m glad we have healthy snacks because they are yummy,” he said. “Watermelon is my favorite and it tasted really good.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
CRUNCH ‘N MUNCH — Fifth-graders in June Bagley’s class, from left: Nykola Selig, Cierra Levasseur and Abigail Dionne enjoy their healthy snack of vegetables with ranch dressing that was served Tuesday at Zippel Elementary School.
The goal of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is to:
• Create healthier school environments by providing healthier food choices.
• Expand the variety of fruits and vegetables children experience.
• Increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption.
• Make a difference in children’s diets to impact their present and future health.
“By showing the kids different fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Allen, “we’re helping the lunch line, too. If it’s the first time a child sees that particular food item, they tend to steer away from it; however, if they’ve already been introduced to it, the more apt they are to try it.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
GARETT LETOURNEAU, a kindergartner in Debbie Wright’s class at Pine Street Elementary School, enjoyed his healthy snack of watermelon last Thursday.
To promote the healthy snack program, teachers will be providing nutrition education activities within the classroom to increase the students’ knowledge of the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables.
“I will provide the teachers with handouts and websites where they can get facts, history and interesting tidbits about the fruit or vegetable that we’re serving,” said Johnson. “It will all be tied in together.”
Updates on the program will be included in school newsletters and on the district’s website — www.sad1.org — throughout the school year.
The schedule for the remainder of the month will be apples Sept. 28 and cantaloupe Sept. 29.
For more information on the healthy snack program, contact Allen at 764-0792.
