Christie Administration Expands Number Of Students Receiving Fresh Fruits, Vegetables In School; 13 Lakewood Schools To Benefit

As part of the Christie Administration’s efforts to provide improved nutritional opportunities for school children, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today announced New Jersey has received federal funding to expand the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for the 2012-2013 school year.

The number of schools participating in the program will increase from 143 in 16 counties last school year to 155 schools in 18 counties starting in September. Almost 76,000 students in total will benefit.

“The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program has been extremely successful in New Jersey,” said Secretary Fisher. “The program has changed the school environment for the better, with children at one school we visited referring to the fresh produce as ‘treats.’  It is a hands-on way of teaching students about good nutrition and creating good food habits that will last them a lifetime.”    

The United States Department of Agriculture has allocated $3,887,073 for New Jersey’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.  The program provides fresh produce to students during the school day, along with nutrition education.  By exposing children to healthy foods, their fruit and vegetable consumption increases, ultimately leading to improved lifelong dietary habits.

Some of the criteria used in selecting the schools to participate included: Elementary schools with 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced price meals; schools that planned to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables as much as possible; the program would be well-publicized and all students would have access to the produce offered; and plans to partner with outside organizations to enhance nutrition education.

The schools that will participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program in Ocean County for the 2012-2013 school year are:

Bnos Devorah, Lakewood
Bnos Bina Girls School, Lakewood
Cheder Bnei Torah, School 1, Lakewood
Cheder Bnei Torah, School 2, Lakewood
Yeshiva Ketana, Lakewood
Congregation Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon, Lakewood
Clifton Avenue Grade School, Lakewood
Ella G. Clarke Elementary School, Lakewood
LECC 1, 2 & 3, Lakewood
Oak Street School, Lakewood
Sephardie Bet Yaakov, Lakewood
Spruce Street School, Lakewood
Tiferes Bais Yaakov, Lakewood
Hugh J. Boyd Jr. Elementary School, Seaside Heights. TLS

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9 COMMENTS

  1. We have had this program for a couple years in our schools and it is great for the students to be exposed to foods they typically would not be

  2. hopefully these schools will use this program properly and let there students benfit from eating healthy fruits and vegetables.
    wic offers farmers market checks yet people take them and then don’t use it

  3. teaching our kids to eat healthy starts at home
    doing it in school too reinforces it
    on shabbas we eat fruit instead of fish for the first course during the summer and in the winter we have salad and all my kids love it
    we also try to have the fridge stocked with fruit and vegetables for the kids to snack on.

  4. OUr school has thisprogram for a few years. Yes, we use it properly and the children are benefitting tremendously. Any time you set foot in the school during recess, dismissal, lunch, all the children are happily munching on fresh fruits and vegetables! It’s a great program!

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