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Veggie school program expanded

More B.C. children will have access to fresh, B.C.-grown fruit and vegetable snacks in the classroom due to a $3-million expansion of the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional program, Premier Christy Clark announced Tuesday.

More B.C. children will have access to fresh, B.C.-grown fruit and vegetable snacks in the classroom due to a $3-million expansion of the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional program, Premier Christy Clark announced Tuesday.

“The great thing about this program is that it brings a variety of fruits and vegetables right into the classroom, helping to make healthy eating part of a routine that can last a lifetime,” Clark said.

The School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional program was created in partnership with the ministries of health, agriculture, and education and is led by the B.C. Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation.

Starting in September through the 2012-13 school year, the program will be available to all B.C. public schools and will expand from the current 1,172 public schools to 1,402 schools, which includes most public and First Nations schools in British Columbia.

In addition, $2.5 million from the Ministry of Health’s healthy eating in schools budget has been allocated to support student access to fruit and vegetables for the next two years. One-time grants will also be available to schools to purchase fridges and salad bar equipment to support local solutions to increase fruit and vegetable access for students.

For more information on the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional program, visit: http://www.aitc.ca/bc/.