An Apple A Day for Students’ Fruit of the Month Program

LOWER TOWNSHIP – Did you know that China is the largest producer of apples in the world, followed by the United States, Turkey, Italy and Poland? The students in the Lower Township School District do, thanks to Food Services Director, Bob Morris, and the district’s Wellness Committee. The 12 member committee, consisting of food service staff, nurses and physical education teachers from the four schools, a student, a PTA member and an interested public citizen designed a Fruit of the Month program that began in January with the popular fruit, the apple.
Everyday a different type of apple concoction has been part of the daily school food menu at David Douglas Memorial, Carl T. Mitnick, Maud Abrams and Charles Sandman. The kids have enjoyed apple muffins for breakfast, sautéed apples and flavored apple sauces at lunch and apple crisp for dessert.
“The Fruit of the Month program is a way for us to introduce the children to more fruits and vegetables,” said Morris. “The program has really taken off and become a cross-curriculum project.”
Morris said the teachers have gotten involved and the children are learning a lot about this fruit. Incorporating maps, word searches and a knowledge tree, the students learned that pilgrims brought apples to America, there are 7,500 different varieties of the fruit and it takes 50 apple tree leaves to make enough energy to grow one apple. The first and second grade teachers and students at the Mitnick School produced a movie sharing these and other interesting apple facts. The movie was shown during a “Fruit of the Month” presentation held at each of the schools over the past couple of weeks. “One of the grades even made up an apple cheer modeled after the E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles cheer,” said Morris.
The presentation consisted of a food services staff member visiting each lunch table with slices of eight types of apples and inviting the students to sample them. Conversation sparked among the students as they discussed what types of apples their moms bought and what kinds their dads liked to eat. The consensus for favorites among the school students was the sour, granny smith, as the winner and the softer flesh, golden delicious, close behind.
At the front of the cafeteria, an apple knowledge tree stood beside a table displayed with apple- inspired creations such as apple pie, apple sauce and apple crisp. During their school’s presentation, Mitnick School Principal, Jeff Samaniego, and Sandman Librarian, Heather Sekela, dressed in an apple costume and armed with a microphone, travelled among the tables of children asking them questions about apples and to share their favorite apple recipes.
“The students were amazed when we showed them a gallon of apple cider and told them it took 36 apples to make that gallon,” said Morris. “You could just see them trying to figure out how all the apples got inside there! They were also fascinated to learn that apples float because 25 percent of their mass is made up of air.”
The well-received Fruit of the Month program is off to a rewarding start. The time and preparation involved has made the committee decide to change the highlighted produce every other month as they continue to delve into the program. Morris said the plan is to focus on oranges and citrus fruits in March, berries in the spring and pumpkin and squash in the fall. “We are working with what is in season,” said Morris, “and we will continue to introduce the children to the fabulous flavors and interesting facts about the multitude of fruits and vegetables available to us all.”
To contact Heather Burns, email hburns@cmcherald.com.