Chapel Hill school receives funds for daily fresh produce

Wednesday morning, 8-year-old Corben Simpson walked to the cafeteria to pick up a plastic tub loaded with fresh nectarines for his third grade class.

“I know I would rather eat candy, but fruits and vegetables help me focus in school,” he said.

Simpson and other students at New Hope Elementary School are the first in the county to benefit from U.S. Department of Agriculture funds to participate in the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program, which began at the school this week.

The school received $31,194 for the year in federal funds for the program, which aims to introduce elementary school students to healthy foods by providing them with fresh produce daily.

Only elementary schools are eligible for the program, which began in its current form in 2008. In order to qualify, more than 50 percent of a school’s students must have free or reduced lunch.

Kim Kelleher, a guidance counselor at the school since it opened its doors in 1980, spearheaded the effort to receive the funding.

“I first learned about it when my principal sent me an e-mail last May,” Kelleher said. “As soon as I heard about it, I just started contacting the different principle players.”

Kelleher said she started working on the application process, which involved submitting written responses to seven prompts, in summer 2009.

That fall, she formed a committee that included school and district officials, physical education teachers and cafeteria staff to brainstorm responses to the prompts, which the group submitted in February.

Three months later, the school got its answer.

“I was teaching a class to get ready for testing, and that was when Mrs. Rumley came,” Kelleher said.

“When she announced that we had won the grant, I was just so excited.”

New Hope’s principal, Cathy Rumley, said teachers and staff hope to use to program to foster healthy eating habits in the children as well as combat childhood obesity, for which the state is ranked 11th in the nation.

Rumley also said officials expect the program to improve students’ performance in school.

“We thought this would really be a good way to educate kids as well as their parents,” Rumley said. “Maybe it will encourage parents and children not to bring potato chips.”

District Child Nutrition Director Valerie Green said the school will pay for the produce up front and be reimbursed through two payments at the ends of September and June.

She said the produce — including uncommon foods like pluots, broccolini and strawbabies — is purchased from Raleigh-based Layton’s Produce, which received the contract through a bid process.

Lynn Harvey is the section chief for child nutrition services for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. Harvey oversees the state’s produce program and said schools are designated funds based on how many students they have.

This year, each school that was eligible received about $52 per student, she said.

Harvey said the program has received excellent feedback from teachers and principals, ranging from increased concentration in the classroom to fewer “tummy aches.”

“For children who have never eaten a kiwi, never seen a kiwi, this is a great opportunity for them to experiment and expand their taste buds,” she said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu