VOA常速英语:US Schools Teach Kids to Play - Part 2

Eating well

More schools are focusing on help children make good food choices. In Vermont, 57 schools are using snack time to encourage kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.

During snack time at Mettawee Community School in West Pawlet, all eyes are on Brook Burnham as she wheels her food cart from classroom to classroom.

The 190 youngsters at Mettawee enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables every morning, thanks to a $13,000 grant funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To qualify, a school has to have a high percentage of low income students.

Heather Champney, Mettawee's kitchen manager, says they couldn't afford the fruit, or a part-time employee to prepare it, without the funding. "Just for an average for the month of March, we spent $1,300 just on the fruit and vegetables."

Champney believes it's money well spent, since so many kids don't get fresh fruits or vegetables at home.

Health benefits

Mandy Mayer is Mettowee's nurse and health coordinator.

"We can stand up in front of a class as much as we want and lecture them about healthy eating," says Mandy Mayer, Mettowee's nurse and health coordinator. But for the kids to really absorb and practice what they learn, Mayer believes hands-on modeling is what works best.

"They have to have the fruits and vegetables there every day, so they can see this is what we do. They'll be hungry, they're ready for it and all together as a class they're sharing in wholesome foods."

It's a lesson some of the children have already learned.

"Yeah - because the choices we make now can affect who we are when we grow up," says Autumn Manning who is 12. "Like, if we get into the habit of eating fresh fruits and veggies now, we'll be more likely to eat them later on because we'll already have formed the habit. And a lot of people just stick with the habits they form as children."

Lesson learned

Her classmate Emily Couper says it's also a lesson kids are bringing home.

"Yesterday, me and my mom were at the store and I asked her to pick up some kiwi because that was a fruit that I had here and I really enjoyed it."

Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture say schools in all fifty states are participating in the fresh fruits and vegetables program and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Because it has been offered nationally for less than two years, there is little scientific data on the program's effectiveness. But officials say anecdotal evidence has encouraged the agency to boost funding from $40 million to $150 million annually, so that more schools will be able to take part next year.