Schools' healthful food effort bears fruit

Excerpts from an 10/25/10 article posted on Tampa Bay Online by Megan Hussey

DADE CITY - Students at Rodney B. Cox Elementary School in Dade City and 130 other schools in Florida are snacking every day in class. But instead of cookies or candy, the students are eating grapes, kiwi, cauliflower, carrots, celery and even more exotic varieties, such as star fruit.

Maybe even more surprising is that the students like the healthful eats.

It's USDA's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. The program, which started in 2008, targets schools where at least 50 percent of the student population gets free or low-cost meals.

The goal: Get kids snacking on fresh fruits and veggies three or five times during the school day.