The Arizona Department of Education is pleased to announce the grant award recipients for the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) for school year 2013-2014. ADE received over 200 FFVP applications and were pleased to see so many schools interested in the program. Grant selections were given to elementary schools with the highest percentage of low-income students to the maximum extent practicable. Arizona received approximately $3.31 million from USDA to distribute to the grant recipients.

The FFVP provides funding to Arizona schools for the purpose of providing a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to their students during the school day. The goals of the FFVP are to create healthier school environments by providing better food choices and to make a difference in children’s diets to impact their present and future health. This includes expanding the variety of fruits and vegetables that students experience, while increasing their fruit and vegetable consumption.

To see the list of awarded schools, please visit the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program webpage at: www.azed.gov/health-nutrition/fresh-fruit-program/.

For questions regarding the FFVP, please contact Jennifer Gordon at (602) 542-8704 or Jennifer.Gordon@azed.gov. 

With a 1.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families in partnership with the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has launched the second phase of CHAMP (Cities Combating Hunger through Afterschool Meal Programs, which now also includes the summer nutrition programs).

Twenty city teams will be chosen to participate in one of two leadership academies that provide training on the Afterschool and Summer Meal Programs. The three person city teams can be comprised of a city official and other key stakeholders, such as anti-hunger advocates and school officials. Cities that participate in the leadership academies will have the opportunity to apply for a grant to increase access to the Afterschool and Summer Meal Programs.

The CHAMP initiative provides an excellent opportunity for anti-hunger advocates to engage with city leaders and encourage them to apply to participate in the leadership academies in order to make afterschool and summer meals for low-income children a priority in their cities.

For more information about the CHAMP initiative visit the NLC website. City leaders can also download the application to participate in one of the regional leadership academies. For more information, contact Denise Belser at (202) 626-3028 or belser@nlc.org or Imani Hope at (202) 626-3180 or ihope@nlc.org.

Demonstrating exceptional programs in nutrition and physical education, this Rio Rico school is only the second Arizona school to achieve the GOLD HUSSC award.  They are setting a high standard for the rest of the district (and state) to follow!  Principal Manuel Carrillo, former principal and current Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction Stephen Schadler and Child Nutrition Director Rachel Carroll, provided the vision, passion, and perseverance to create a school culture which values a healthy school environment as fundamental to learning. 

Congratulations to the entire School Health Advisory Council and HUSSC champions at Mountain View Elementary, including: Rohnda Kridler (Physical Education coordinator), Isela Brown, Evelyn Hanna, Maritza Leyva (menu specialist), Alma Garcia (cafeteria supervisor) and her staff, and Chris Bachelier as well as the student population who participated actively in making healthy choices at their school! This is a difficult task and they rose to the challenge.  Mountain View will now maintain these high standards for the next four years, during which time they may also strive to pursue the HealthierUS School Challenge Gold of Distinction Award along with several other Arizona schools who have already submitted applications.  Once again, we congratulate Mountain View Elementary on this high achievement! 

For more information about how you might achieve the HealthierUS School Challenge, contact us.