Iowa Department of Education

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Nutrition Programs

Fruit & Vegetable Program

Fruit Vegetable Program

The Nutrition Title of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public-Law 10-171) provided $6,000,000 in funding for a pilot program in four states (Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan) and one Indian Reservation (Zuni in New Mexico) to distribute fresh fruit, dried fruit, and fresh vegetables to students. The project was administered by the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service and was evaluated through USDA's Economic Research Service.

The pilot operated in 25 schools in each state and the schools on the Zuni reservation, beginning with the 2002-2003 school year. The overall goal of the program was to improve fruit and vegetable consumption among the Nation's school children participating in the pilot by offering free fruits and vegetables at various times, using various methods throughout the school day. Schools selected to participate were chosen to represent a mix of large and small, rural, suburban, and urban, elementary, middle, and high schools. The participating schools also included students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and family income levels. Schools chose a variety of implementation methods, frequency of implementation, and whether or not to include a nutrition education component with the program. The intent of the pilot was to determine the feasibility of offering such a program and its success as determined by the students' interest in participating.

All Iowa schools participating in the USDA National School Lunch Program were provided the opportunity to apply in the summer of 2002. The schools selected by USDA to participate in the pilot are shown on the listing that follows. Results in Iowa paralleled the results in the other pilot schools. Nearly all schools believed that it is feasible to continue the pilot program if funding were made available. The funding level was considered ample. Schools believed that 80 percent of students were very interested in the pilot, and 71 percent reported that students' interest had increased during the pilot period. A copy of the USDA's report to Congress on the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program can be found through the following link.

A copy of the USDA's report to Congress on the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program can be found through the following shortcut.

USDA's report to Congress on the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program

Pilot Continues in Iowa

On January 23, 2004, with the signing of the fiscal year 2004 Omnibus Bill, $1,000,000 was made available to the Iowa State Education Agency to continue the fresh fruit and vegetable pilot project in Iowa. In addition the bill included a similar provision for the state of Mississippi to start a free fresh fruit, dried fruit, and fresh vegetable program. This funding, according to the legislation, was made available to the state through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, rather than through the USDA. The application process to receive this funding was completed during the spring of 2004, with the funding released in June of 2004 for use during the 2004-2005 school year. The original 25 pilot schools were funded to continue participating and three additional schools were selected to participate as the intent of the legislation was for some expansion of the program in Iowa, even though the funding level was less than the original pilot.

Pilot Becomes a Permanent Program

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265) extended and expanded the free Fresh Fruit, Dried Fruit and Fresh Vegetable Program. The law authorizes 25 schools to participate in the program with funding through USDA in the original four pilot states (Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan) and in Mississippi, plus three new states (Pennsylvania, Washington, North Carolina) and two additional tribal organizations. Since the 25 pilot schools in Iowa are participating under a grant from the Centers for Disease Control for 2004-2005 school year, an additional 25 schools were selected to participate in the USDA program for this year. New schools selected to participate for this school year were selected using criteria similar to the original pilot selection process with a slightly higher emphasis given to schools with at least 50% of their students eligible for free or reduced price meals and priority to schools that have at least one partnership to support the program as directed by guidance from the legislation.

Application Procedures

The Iowa Department of Education received new applications to participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) beginning with the 2007-08 school year. Applications for the FFVP were directly mailed to all public and non-puplic school districts in addition to this electronic posting. The goals of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program are to create healthier school environments by providing healthier food choices; expand the variety of fruits and vegetables children experience; increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption; and to make a difference in children’s diets to impact their present and future health.