Two Pee Dee schools to take part in fruits, veggies program

Thirty-four elementary schools, including several in the Pee Dee, will use their portions of $800,000 in federal grant funds to provide fruit baskets inside classrooms, kiosks in hallways and other innovative approaches to give students the opportunity to get fresh fruit or vegetable snacks throughout the school day. The program is a partnership involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

By: SCNow Staff | SCNow
Published: September 12, 2008

Two elementary schools in the Pee Dee will be part of a new program to bring fresh fruits and vegetables into public school.

McBee and Plainview elementary schools in Chesterfield County are the two schools selected to take part in the partnership program involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the S.C. Department of Education and the S.C. Department of Agriculture.

Todd Bedenbaugh, director of school food services and nutrition for the S.C. Department of Education, said the experimental program’s goal is to encourage students to eat healthier items and make healthier choices.

“We have to give away fruits and vegetables during the school day,” he said. “And it can’t be during lunch. We’re trying to create kiosks in the hallways and (boost) nutrition education.”

Bedenbaugh said one way to incorporate the program into the classroom is to use food for lessons when possible. He suggested teachers could use carrot sticks as one way to illustrate fractions in math class.

The money for the program came from a federal grant. South Carolina was allotted $800,000 to fund 34 schools within the state, including McBee and Plainview.

Ken Buck, spokesman for the Chesterfield County School District, said plans have been made on how to best use the funding.

“The district food service managers at those two schools have already developed lesson plans to promote the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

The fresh fruits and vegetables will come from McLeod Farms in McBee, Buck said.

Bedenbaugh said the $800,000 is not the only money South Carolina schools will see for this program, though.

“The grant will increase over the next five years and we’ll be able to bring on more schools next year,” he said. “(That will continue) until 2012 and they’ll evaluate the program. They’ll write a report to say whether it was successful.”

By 2012, Bedenbaugh said, South Carolina schools could receive roughly $2 million for the program.