Vance County Schools – Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program


Eight elementary schools in the Vance County Public School System applied for participation in the federal Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program and all were approved to be a part of the program for the 2012-2013 school year.

The schools will receive grant funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to their students each school day throughout the year. The USDA has $4 million to fund the program in the schools.

The participating schools include: Pinkston Street Elementary School, Carver Elementary School, Clarke Elementary School, Zeb Vance Elementary School, Aycock Elementary School, E.M. Rollins Elementary School, E.O. Young Jr. Elementary School and Dabney Elementary School.

Their students will be among those at 143 North Carolina elementary schools taking part in the program designed to expose students to eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and helping them to learn the importance of having a healthier diet. The grant funds will be used by school staff members to promote healthier food choices through the purchase of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables as daily snacks for students and by helping teachers incorporate nutrition education in lesson plans.

The Vance County Schools’ Child Nutrition Department also is actively involved in assisting with and promoting the program in the eight local schools.

This is the ninth consecutive year the state has participated in the program to help elementary schools serve a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to students. Previous program participants provided fruit baskets inside classrooms, set up kiosks in school hallways and used other innovative approaches to give students the opportunity to grab fresh fruit or vegetable snacks during the school day. A few local schools have participated in the program over the last couple of years. The upcoming school year will mark the largest number of local schools to participate in the program during a school year.

Schools participating in the program also will boost efforts in nutrition education, so students will learn how fresh fruits and vegetables are a critical part of a healthy diet and can help prevent obesity.

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Child Nutrition Services Section is partnering with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health and the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services to implement the program in the 2012-13 school year.