USDA initiates public school nutritional snack pilot program

Food & Drink Weekly, Feb 24, 2003

At a time when nutrition surveys show that three out of four American youths fail to eat the minimum five servings a day of fruit and vegetables recommended by health officials, a USDA pilot program is slipping a many of these foods into the classrooms of nearly 65,000 students in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and New Mexico. Tacked onto the 2002 Farm Bill by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and others, the $6 million program is testing whether providing healthful snacks -- baby carrots, star fruit, dried plums, fruit smoothies and, yes, even broccoli and cauliflower -- means that students will eat them. It's asking whether serving fruit and vegetables can help foster good eating habits and possibly put a dent in the obesity epidemic.

"We know that balanced diets and physical activity are essential to children's growth and learning," said Eric M. Bost, USDA's undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services. The pilot program, he said, offers an excellent opportunity "for creative approaches and possible solutions."

Nearly 900 public and private schools applied for the pilot program last July when the USDA offered it in four states and on the Zuni Indian reservation in New Mexico, where the problems of overweight and obesity have hit particularly hard. One hundred schools were selected to participate. Schools receive $89 to $152 per student to buy fruit and vegetables snacks for the academic year, with each school making its own purchases. The only caveat is that all food provided in the program must be grown in the United States. (Bananas are exempt from this rule.)

No official reports on the program's impact are yet available. In March, the National Cancer Institute's Five-A-Day program plans to convene a conference for participating schools to discuss their experiences with the program.