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The following article appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on September 16 and was featured on the School Nutrition Association's Web site. |
New Mexico apples will soon become the newest teaching tool at Hayes Middle School. So will New Mexico peaches, melons and cherry tomatoes. The fruit is part of a pilot program to help educate young people about the importance of diet and exercise, paid for with a grant from General Mills. The aim is to help students reach the national goal of eating five servings of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. School helpers will pass the fruit out to students as a morning snack between classes, said Albuquerque Public Schools dietitian and community nutrition specialist Jennie McCary. McCary helped coordinate the work between the school, the agriculture department and Farm To Table. Hayes will buy local fruit from New Mexico farmers with help from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Hayes is using a $10,000 Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness Grant it received in 2003. In addition, a Santa Fe-based nonprofit organization called Farm To Table is also kicking $1,000 toward the program. Half of the money has already been used to create a state-of-the- art school fitness program at the magnet school near the New Mexico Expo. The school wants to move toward a "totally healthy food school," said Hayes physical education teacher Karen Jeffery. McCary called the program, which was expected to begin Wednesday, a win-win situation for students and farmers. "We're actually going to be purchasing through farmers in our area," said McCary. Farmers like the idea because it gives them access to a market they haven't had before and "probably a little better price," said Craig Mapel, marketing specialist at the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. |