Apr 26, 2022
It’s the age-old query – how one can get youngsters to eat extra fruit? Everyone knows the advantages of a food regimen that’s wealthy in fruit. No less than adults do. Convincing youngsters so as to add extra fruit to their food regimen is one other problem. The meals vitamin consultants on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands enticed their faculty youngsters to eat extra fruit by serving fruit smoothies.
Final yr, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands acquired a USDA Faculty Breakfast Growth Grant within the quantity of $199,920. The CNMI Public Faculty System is utilizing the funds to buy blenders and different wanted gear for all their faculties to allow them to add fruit smoothies as a breakfast menu merchandise. They’re additionally offering coaching to employees and growing culturally acceptable smoothie recipes. Their aim is to extend breakfast participation, improve fruit consumption at breakfast, and in the end make fruit a daily a part of the scholars’ breakfast routines at college and at dwelling.
“This USDA Faculty Breakfast Growth Grant permits us so as to add fruit smoothies to our breakfast menu and to this point, we’ve gotten response,” mentioned Dale Roberts, CNMI’s Baby Diet Program Director. “The grant funding is for 2 years and although we’ve had a gradual begin rolling it out, resulting from provide chain points, we are going to quickly provide contemporary fruit smoothies in any respect of our faculties.”
Earlier this month, USDA introduced the opening of this yr’s Faculty Breakfast Growth Grants for U.S. Territories. Practically $2.8 million is obtainable for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.
Details about the grant and how one can apply could be discovered on the Grants.gov website. Purposes are due July 13, 2022.