Skip to main content

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)

Students at Argenziano, East Somerville Community School and Winter Hill Community Innovation School tasted ripe, fresh picked strawberries, organic oranges, crunchy celery as well as many other fresh fruits and vegetables this school year as part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP).  All students at the three schools were offered a fresh fruit or vegetable as a midmorning snack Monday through Friday.  Students gushed with enthusiasm about the program and voraciously consumed the fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis!
 
We are excited to announce that the FFVP will be continued at Argenziano, ESCS and WHCIS during the 2014-2015 school year!
 
The goals of the FFVP are to establish lifelong healthy eating habits and to fight childhood obesity since it promotes healthy eating habits among students by introducing a variety of produce on a regular basis, giving students an opportunity to try fruits and vegetables to which they might not otherwise be exposed. 
 
Stay tuned for program announcements, updates and stories from the cafeteria!
 
Content provided by Charlotte Stephenson, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Grant Coordinator, SPS FNS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mindful Eating: Part 1

In order to digest your food properly, your body must be in parasympathetic mode, or in a state of non-stress. Kindergartners know this. Well, they might not know the scientific term yet, but during lunch they participate in 6 minutes of silence; a period they call "Mindful Eating". When asked why they like mindful eating, the children replied, because "it’s quiet”, “I can enjoy my food better”, “I get peace and quiet”, and "it’s calmly”. Kindergartener teacher Ms. Scrima, and other Kennedy School teachers have been implementing mindfulness in the cafeteria and their classrooms since last year. They are proud to have a lunch period that looks and sounds quite different from the chaotic cafeteria rush other classes often experience. While the students sit silently at the lunch table checking in with their emotions, their digestive systems are also benefitting. Physiologically, only when our bodies are in rest mode can the brain trigger the release of digestive ...

Put your best FORK forward during National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month!  Each year the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics develops new topics to celebrate National Nutrition Month. This year's theme, Put your best fork forward, encourages us to consider that every bite counts. Even "small shifts in our food choices, can add up over time." Here in Somerville we are celebrating National Nutrition Month in a few ways. ~ We are releasing Veggie of the Month kits in each school's library! The kits contain books, taste testing supplies, and a binder with lesson materials for each month!  ~ We are visiting a few PreK-2nd grade classes to "taste-test" the veggie of the month: leafy greens!  In the classroom, we are reading Sylvia's Spinach and making a simple salad dressing to drizzle over spinach! (Be sure to check back later for the results of our visits!)   ~  Our  Wellness Champions and Farm to School Staff are posting bulletin boards and fliers around the schools! ...

Pollinate: The 2015 Mass Farm to School Conference

On January 13, 2015 Mass Farm to School Project held a regional conference in Worcester, MA. Attending the conference were food service directors, educators, policy makers, public health advocates and farm to school enthusiasts. Three inspiring keynote speakers kicked off the conference: Ruby Maddox, Assistant Director for the Miller Worley Center for the Environment at Mt. Holyoke College, Melissa Honeywood, Food Service Director Cambridge Public Schools , and Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance . Each speaker, offering her unique perspective, reminded us of three basic, but indispensable truths. 1. Farm to school (and sea to school) programs rely on connections and relationships. Collaborations among teachers, food service directors, farmers, fisherman, and the larger community are vital to successful farm to school programs. No one person can create a farm to school program. We need support from three...