Comments from Students
" Hey, I thought I didn't like pears but these are really good!"
Comments From Principals and Teachers:
"I want to say thank you for the fruit and vegetables we have received, continue to receive, and will receive in the future.
We have 116 students in our program, most of who can be classified as being at-risk, and it is a great gift to be able to provide many hungry young people with good food. We often incorporate the fruit and vegetables into our breakfast program, and I cannot adequately express the sense of satisfaction, joy, and pride I feel when I see our students work with the food to turn out something very special for their peers. The nourishment these kids receive from making and serving breakfast for others is in addition to all the minerals and vitamins, etc they ingest.
I want to thank you for affording me, and the other staff members involved, the opportunity to be a part of such an endeavour."
"It's funny and great that the kids are now asking "isn't this our fruit day?” They are looking forward to each new delivery."
"Thank you very much. I really enjoyed reading about the Christmas oranges, as I was sitting here eating one. I will print this Holiday Tradition and put it up with my Christmas display."
"The mammoth carrots were used in Carrot cake pancakes.
The extra ripe Pears were used in Ginger bread pancakes with pear compote.
The left over mini tomatoes were cut and mixed with basil and placed on a waffle and then topped with a fried egg."
"Thank you for your little blurbs on each fruit and vegetable. I print off the email and have our students who do the announcements read this to the whole school. The orange story may take two days!"
"The bulletin board is in the primary wing of the school, but you'll find the 'wash your hands' posters in every washroom in the school, and a few other posters in various locations around the building. The staff and students are loving this program. It has definitely amped up the atmosphere around healthy eating in our school! The extra fruit & vegetable snacks are available at the snack bar (at recess & lunch) until they're gone ~ the kids love that! They try it in their classroom... then head to the snack bar the next few days looking for more. Of course, we've used the extra product as an after school snack for our track & field participants, babysitter's course, running club, and various sports teams (if it's a home game), as well as in our lunch program (kids who forgot their lunch or don't have one...approx. 15 or so of our students use this program daily...) - we love the flexibility of offering it where ever there's a need. We're overwhelmingly impressed with how easy this program was to implement, and are grateful for the opportunity to affect change in our students school life by the simple act of offering fresh B.C. fruits & vegetables! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Our school has enjoyed this program so much and are pleased that it is continuing in September. Thanks so much the for wonderful way everything was coordinated. It has been easy and worthwhile for all of us...the fruit and veggies were good too!"
"Kids loved the fruit and actually said that plums were better than candy!"
"Things are going very well and the fruit is being very well received and enjoyed. The fruit is outstanding and we have worked out our delivery in the school."
"The kids were eating plums like crazy!! It warmed my heart to see some of our needy children eating them with such enthusiasm. Thanks. This program is awesome and the kids are really enjoying it."
"I just wanted to let you know that I think this initiative is super duper! My class of Grade 1's were so excited and after the first day of serving the plums, 4 kids brought them as snack for the next day. As well, we did a writing assignment and 3 kids included them as one of their favorite fruits. Thanks again."
"The kids and the staff are really enjoying their healthy fruit snack."
"I'm all for it. I think that this program is important and should be part of the curriculum."
"I think it is awesome and well organized. At the beginning, I didn't think that the kids would be keen, but they are. We have a lot of impoverished kids here, who have been raised on processed foods, and they will take the extras at the end of the day and that is gratifying to see."
"The kids will eat fruits and vegetables when they are accessible to them. If it is there, they will eat it. It is almost the norm now, or maybe even peer pressure to eat it because the other kids are eating them. It is important for the kids for their long term health. I feel pride that our school is involved in a program that is ground breaking and very promising."
"Countless parents and teachers have had nothing but good things to say about the program. It has been positive, positive, positive, even disbelief."
"The kids are excited and are trying things that they otherwise would not have tried. If we have a repeat of a fruit or vegetable, they go "Oh ya, I love that!"
"We don't have the donut and chip days anymore. The fruit and vegetables have really taken over!"
"I think this program is great and I hope that all the schools get it. The kids learn more about fruits and vegetables. They just love the cucumbers. It has been all positive, no negative. In the long run we are promoting healthy eating habits and that in turn will reduce medical costs."
"I can't say enough good things about this program. It is a win, win program for parents and tax payers."
"It is a wonderful program. The idea behind it is great. Nothing but good from both the health and agriculture perspective."
"The BC School Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program is such a great idea. I hope you hear over and over again what a difference it is making. I am sure that there are children in our school who have eaten tomatoes or cucumbers for the first time because of this - and really enjoyed them!"
Comments From The In-School Coordinators:
"I love this program! I so hope it can be expanded."
"Cucumbers and tomatoes have been devoured!"
"Crunching contests are going on - which fruit or veggie is the crunchiest?"
"Jokes are being shared with staff and students about fruit and veggies."
"Kids are trying things they've never had."
"Great kiwi - we can all think we are in warm New Zealand instead of the frozen north! I think this program (for us) is beginning to make a difference, along with the exercise promoted by Action Schools! BC."
"Good, yummy, healthy, super duper, delicious!"
"Students liked the cucumbers and came back for seconds. So far there have been no complaints about the choice of foods."
"Kids loved the smell of the cucumbers and made the pickle connection."
"Posters and hand outs have gone out. The program is running smoothly and kids are actually excited about fruits and vegetables."
"Some students in our school had never tried tomatoes."
"Kids said they want to eat mini cucumbers every day."
"The kids that ate the tomatoes loved them and commented on how sweet they taste."
"The kids loved the mini cucumbers and commented that they had never tried them before."
"The kids were glad to see the cherry tomatoes and loved them."
"Well received by students and staff."
"Cooking class copied nutrition facts for distribution with the snack."
"Extras have been placed in a bowl in the office for staff and students. As well after school sports teams are taking them for snacks and Home Ec classes are able to use right away or dried for later use."
"It is a great program. Kids love it, ask for more. They try new things. We love it."
"The children and teachers loved the sliced apples."
"Some children would not even try a tomato. Children that did enjoyed them and asked for more."
