Fruits and Vegetables

Make at least half of your plate Fruits and Vegetables

Our Nutrition Services Department is serving more fresh fruits and vegetables in an effort to provide students with a wide variety of healthy choices.

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables will help to keep you healthy in so many ways. Try and choose more vegetables and fruits at home. Go for color and variety—dark green, yellow, orange, and red.

School meals include fruits and vegetables with every serving and most people should aim for at least nine servings (at least 4½ cups) of vegetables and fruits a day, and potatoes don’t count. Go for a variety of types and colors of produce, to give your body the mix of nutrients it needs. Some  of the best choices are dark leafy greens, cooked tomatoes, and anything that’s a rich yellow, orange, or red color.

Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat, sodium and calories, and none have cholesterol. Fruits and vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin C. The health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits is clear: they help to reduce risk for heart disease, they may help to protect against certain types of cancers, reduce the risk of obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Fruit and Vegetable Information Sheets   Apples, Braeburn Bell Pepper, Orange Cucumber, European Papaya Snow Peas Apples, Empire Bell Pepper, Yellow Dates Peaches Sugar Snap Peas Apples, Fuji Blackberries Figs Pear, Asian Tangerines, Satsuma Apples, Gala Blood Orange Grapefruit Pears, Bosc Tomatillo Apples, Golden Delicious Blueberries Grapes, Seedless Pears, D'Anjou Tomatoes, Grape Apples, Honeycrisp Broccoli Green Beans Pear, Forelle Tomatoes, Heirloom Apple, Kiku Carrots Honeydew Pear, Seckel Tomatoes, Teardrop Apple, Pink Lady Cantaloupe Jicama Persimmon Watermelon, Seedless Apples, Red Delicious Cauliflower Kumquats Pineapple Yellow Wax Beans Apricots Celery Lettuce, Boston Bibb Plums Zucchini Squash Baby Arugula     Cherries Mango Pomegranate   Baby Banana Clementine Mesclun Star Fruit   Baby Spinach Cucumber Nectarine Strawberries       Orange-Halo Sweet Potato
Additional Resources
Dole Super Kids Coloring and Activity Sheets
Fruit and Veggies More Matters Activity Sheets
Produce For Better Health Foundation Activity Sheets
Food Fun Fact - How much produce do we eat?
Wellness is a way of life, and it is important that students build healthy eating and physical activity habits that will last a life time. A wide variety of foods in moderation coupled with moderate daily physical activity is the key to establishing optimum health. Research has shown that restricting food from children may actually increase obesity in later years. Fortunately, we have several resources to help us get, and stay, on track: ChooseMyPlate.gov Dietary Guidelines for Americans American Heart Association Website   USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center Fruits and Vegetables More Matters Bam! Body and Mind