Each May the U.S. Department of Agriculture gives grants to elementary schools to provide healthy snacks. This year 113 Idaho schools received the awards. The program teaches kids at low income schools about nutrition and introduces them to unfamiliar foods.
The Gooding School District has a four day school week. Kids at Gooding Elementary are at school from before 8:00 in the morning to nearly 4:00 in the afternoon. District nutrition director Anji Baumann says providing fresh fruits and vegetables to every classroom in the middle of the afternoon helps kids make it through the day. And she says in this high poverty school many kids get very few fruits and vegetables at home.
Gooding Elementary has received this grant for several years. This year it got the largest amount in the state, more than $35,000. Baumann says the program has introduced students to things they never saw in their local grocery store.
“I’ve talked to parents whose children have tried some of our fruits and go home and tell their parents ‘buy that for us’ and the parents are asking where to get it,” Baumann says. “When we first introduced pluots in our school district, that’s a cross between an apricot and a plum, our local grocery store actually did start carrying pluots and you’ll see them in the grocery store when they’re in season.”
Baumann says even though pluots weren’t available in Gooding before kids tried them at school, the ones the district buys are grown in Idaho. She says the fresh fruit and vegetable grants have allowed the school to develop relationships with local growers. Some now even take requests about what to grow.
But it’s also introduced kids to things from around the world. And as part of the program, they learn about the places that exotic food comes from.
Here are the southwest Idaho schools that will get grants for next academic year. This information comes from the Idaho Department of Education.
Data source: Idaho Department of Education
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