Archive: Around Town

Ithaca, NY -- The Board of Directors from United Way of Tompkins County has approved a $20,570 grant to the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food (NYCHSF). The grant will be used to supply nutritious fruits and vegetables for students at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School (BJM). NYCHSF is providing fresh produce as a means for healthy snacks and influencing good eating habits for the children. This project is the first significant activity from this statewide organization in Tompkins County.

The goal is that by eating fresh produce on a daily basis, it will become part the children's routine, something they actually come to prefer, as it makes them feel better. The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, United Way of Tompkins County, and Greenstar Community Projects (GCP) will announce a partnership with the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) for this one-year pilot Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program at the January 22 ICSD Board of Education Meeting at the administrative offices at 7:00 p.m.

The program is a private version of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program. NYCHSF developed the program after learning of its popularity with the limited USDA initiative.

The NYCHSF program is employing an "Adopt a Classroom" concept, similar to businesses adopting sports teams, where local businesses and foundations provide funding for the purpose of providing fresh fruit and vegetable snacks in the classroom to increase consumption of those foods and to decrease consumption of less healthy snacks. "Less than 2% of children are eating according to the US Dietary Guidelines. This program will directly increase students' fruit and vegetable consumption," said Amie Hamlin, Executive Director of NYCHSF. The program will also incorporate an educational component, using NYCHSF's signature program, Wellness Wakeup. From this experience, NYCHSF will create a blueprint document during the summer that tells other businesses, foundations, and schools how to implement the program. Ardyth Gillespie, Ph.D., from Cornell University's Food Decision Making Program, will provide research and evaluation support.

One of United Way of Tompkins County's targeted areas of care is Hunger and Food Security. James Brown, President of United Way of Tompkins County, stated, "By sponsoring fresh fruit and vegetable snacks in twelve BJM classrooms, United Way is contributing to the efforts of students, families, and educators. This is a wonderful convergence of people and community assets, and we are happy to be a partner."

The non-profit arm of Greenstar Cooperative Market is adopting an additional classroom, and will be directly providing produce with an emphasis on local and organic. GCP Board Member Liz Karabinakis states, "The FFVSP is a great opportunity to leverage support from socially responsible businesses, and to use schools as a vehicle to help improve children's access to healthy foods. This is an exciting endeavor for GreenStar and I'm eager to share our blueprint with other natural food co-ops across the country."

Ithaca City School District Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Lesli Myers is thrilled with the program. "A healthy diet should consist of a great deal of raw fruits and vegetables. The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food has partnered with the Ithaca City School District to help students at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School meet this requirement. This joint venture enables our students to eat healthy snacks of fresh fruits and vegetables, which in turn enables them to focus on learning." said Myers. Denise Gomber, Principal of BJM added, "We are very excited about this opportunity that NYCHSF, Greenstar, and United Way of Tompkins County has brought to us. It will have a great impact both nutritionally and academically, and we will integrate it into our curriculum."

Cayuga Radio Group provided $5,000 of donated advertising to inform the business community about this opportunity. At this time, NYCHSF is seeking additional businesses, foundations, and individuals in Tompkins County to adopt the remaining six classrooms at BJM.

United Way of Tompkins County: Supporting Strong People Strong Families Strong Communities. United Way of Tompkins County is an independent, non-profit corporation, incorporated and governed by a volunteer board of directors. United Way continues to be at the center of the health and human service network in Tompkins County.

The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food (NYCHSF) is a statewide nonprofit that works to improve the health and well-being of New York's students by advocating for healthy plant-based foods, including organic where possible, farm to school programs, the elimination of unhealthy competitive foods in all areas of the school (not just the cafeteria), comprehensive nutrition policy, and education to create food- and health-literate students.

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