{"id":742,"date":"2015-09-23T00:00:06","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T04:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/?p=742"},"modified":"2015-10-16T14:27:36","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T18:27:36","slug":"09_23_2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/09_23_2015\/","title":{"rendered":"MSDE Awards More Than $3 Million To Provide Fresh Fruits And Vegetables"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly 150 Schools Receive Funding<\/em><\/h3>\n

For Immediate Release \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Contact: William Reinhard, 410-767-0486
\nBaltimore, MD<\/p>\n

To encourage students to develop healthy eating habits early in life, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has awarded $3,376,387 in federal funds to selected Maryland elementary schools.<\/p>\n

The funds, made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), provide fresh fruits and vegetables to students enrolled in participating elementary schools statewide. This year, MSDE is pleased to provide funds to 148 schools. A list of participating schools can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The FFVP targets schools located in communities that lack regular access to healthy and affordable foods.\u00a0 Every child enrolled in a participating school is offered the fruit and vegetable snacks.\u00a0 The Program is viewed as a catalyst for change, by teaching students to accept and enjoy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The produce served often includes fruits and vegetables not always available to children living in low-income communities, including squash, mangos, mushrooms, berries, and asparagus.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince there is not a grocery store in walking distance to the school, our students often lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables.\u00a0 Through this program, students have been able to get fresh fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis.\u00a0 Students look forward to getting the produce, as well as learning about fruits and vegetables they have not had before,\u201d says Loren McCaskill, principal at Dr. Bernard Harris, Senior Elementary School in Baltimore City.<\/p>\n

Research reveals the Program has positive outcomes on students\u2019 dietary choices and health.\u00a0 A 2015 study on the effect of the FFVP on childhood obesity found a three percent reduction in obesity among studied participants.\u00a0 At a rate of $50 – $75 per student per year, researchers concluded that the FFVP is a cost-effective tool to prevent obesity and improve participants\u2019 dietary intake.<\/p>\n

For more information about Maryland\u2019s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, please contact
\nKate Gingue, Staff Specialist, at MSDE\u2019s Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs at
\n410-767-0218 or kate.gingue@maryland.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\nThe Maryland State Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are equal opportunity employers and providers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly 150 Schools Receive Funding
\nFor Immediate Release \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Contact: William Reinhard, 410-767-0486
\nBaltimore, MD
\nTo encourage students to develop healthy eating habits early in life, the   …Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-newsreleases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":744,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}