HISD Nutrition Services kicked off another year of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) on Wednesday, October 9. The program, funded by the USDA, offers a variety of free snacks of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as twice-weekly classroom nutrition lessons to elementary students. The goal is to offer them fruits and vegetables they may not have tried and develop a foundation of healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.
Ninety-three HISD elementary schools, with approximately 40,000 students in total, are participating this year in the FFVP overseen by members of HISD Nutrition Services. HISD Registered Dietitians Nathan Raska and Gabriela Villarreal and Nutrition Services Chef Brittany Jones visit schools to teach short nutrition lessons and chef demonstrations in hopes of making good nutrition more accessible and stimulating for young students.
“It makes your body healthier and sometimes fruits are tasty,” said Braeburn Elementary School third-grader Jose Lopez as his class enjoyed FFVP’s first offering of the year: fresh strawberries.
As part of the FFVP, Nutrition Services offers Lunch and Learn opportunities in which its staff provides information and encourages students to try fruits and vegetables during the cafeteria lunch to educate them about different ways to enjoy these agricultural products.
“It’s important that students have the opportunity to try fresh fruits and vegetables so that they can see the benefits of the foods they eat and the opportunities to eat a variety of different foods, and not just things that naturally appeal to them,” he said. Braeburn principal Hollie Zamora.
In addition to healthy snacks, Nutrition Services provides each classroom with activity sheets with facts, games and recipes that students can try with their families at home.
“We hope they can enjoy fruits and vegetables forever,” said CTM Nutrition Services leader and licensed naturopathic physician Kathryn Laurance, ND. “One day, we ate star fruit, and one of the students liked it so much that his father bought him a star fruit to enjoy on his birthday.”
The FFVP has had a lasting impact on HISD students, and the number of participating schools increases each year. For more information about FFVP in HISD schools or to download nutrition activity sheets, visit the FFVP Nutrition Services webpage here.
