SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today announced the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) federal grant recipients for the 2017-18 school year. The program assists schools with introducing students to a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables they may not otherwise have the opportunity to learn about or eat.
“Research shows that students with access to healthy meals perform better in school,” said State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D. “Introducing young students to fresh fruits and vegetables helps to establish lifelong healthy eating habits and fosters an interest in nutritious foods – where they come from, what they look like, and what they do for growing brains and bodies. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program supports ISBE’s vision of Illinois as a state of whole, healthy children.”
ISBE has administered FFVP federal grants to elementary schools across the state each school year since 2008-09. All elementary schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program are eligible to apply. The program criteria gives priority to elementary schools that have greater free and reduced-price lunch participation.
For instance, in 2015, a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grant made it possible to offer fresh peaches to students at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Chicago – it was the first time some students had tasted a fresh peach.
The school districts awarded FFVP grants for the 2017-18 school year are:
- Jacksonville SD 117
- Rockford SD 205
- Jackson Charter School
- Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview 89
- Lindop SD 92
- Berwyn South SD 100
- Summit SD 104
- Calumet Public SD 132
- Gen George Patton SD 133
- Prairie-Hills ESD 144
- Harvey SD 152
- Brookwood SD 167
- Ludlow CCSD 142
- North Wamac SD 186
- Mount Vernon SD 80
- Bethel SD 82
- Patoka CUSD 100
- Central City SD 133
- Centralia SD 135
- Sandoval CUSD 501
- Archdiocese of Chicago-Nw Hwy
- City of Chicago SD 299
- Betty Shabazz International Charter School
- Lincoln ESD 27
- CCSD 180
- Carbondale ESD 95
- Tri-County Sp Ed Jnt Agreement
- Meridian CUSD 101
- Aurora West USD 129
- Aurora East USD 131
- CUSD 300
- Pembroke CCSD 259
- Waukegan CUSD 60
- Round Lake CUSD 116
- Streator ESD 44
- North Greene CUSD 3
- Madison CUSD 12
- East Alton SD 13
- Pleasant Valley SD 62
- Pleasant Hill SD 69
- Peoria Heights CUSD 325
- Silvis SD 34
- East Moline SD 37
- Rock Island SD 41
- Brooklyn UD 188
- East St Louis SD 189
- Springfield SD 186
- Laraway CCSD 70C
ISBE’s Nutrition and Wellness Programs Division will present the free School Nutrition Programs Back to School Conference on Aug. 2-3, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.
ISBE will recognize the 2017 School Nutrition Champion award-winner, Sandra Duniphan, the cafeteria manager for Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105 in Fairview Heights, at the conference.
The free conference for new and veteran school nutrition professionals also will include sessions on new staff orientation, menu planning, procurement and resource management, the Web-based Illinois Nutrition System, local wellness policies, USDA Foods, food safety, Farm to Schools, and more.
