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USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

 

In 2006 Wisconsin was one of six states to be added to the successful USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. 25 participating schools in Wisconsin received grant funds to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to offer to their students as a free snack.

Sherman Middle School in Madison was one of the 25 schools selected to participate. Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch worked with Sherman and other participating schools to facilitate the purchase of snacks from local farms. As part of our classroom snack program we coordinated with the Willy St. Coop to provide a fresh, local vegetable snack for Sherman's 500 students once a week for much of the 2006-2007 school year. Snacks included cherry tomatoes, sweet potato discs, kohlrabi slices, carrot coins, and apples. Over $2,600 worth of produce was purchased from local growers as part of this program by Sherman alone.

Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch is also worked with Sherman staff and local chefs to start the popular chef in the classroom program which is now expanding to other Madison middle schools.

Starting in the 2008-09 school year, the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program has expanded nationally with permanent funding. Madison's Falk, Hawthorne, and Glendale elementary schools are three of the 56 Wisconsin schools receiving this snack funding.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Page
includes links to a listing of all Wisconsin schools receiving funding as well as other information related to the program.

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Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch
A joint project of the REAP Food Group and
the University of Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems

Contact Doug Wubben, project coordinator, at dwubben@wisc.edu

http://www.reapfoodgroup.org/farmtoschool
Web site designed and maintained by Lori Compas
at the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
Updated February 3, 2008