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Farmers want to promote healthier eating in schools
The Guardian (Charlottetown) (Wed 25 Jan 2006) reports that there is growing concern Island school students may be getting mixed messages on health and nutrition. On the one hand, physical education has become an integral part of the school curriculum and intramural and interscholastic sports continue to flourish. The health curriculum stresses exercise and the importance of following the Canada Food Guide. However, cafeterias and vending machines offer up an endless supply of junk food. There have been some concerted efforts in the past several years to offer more healthy alternatives, spearheaded largely by the P.E.I. Healthy Eating Alliance and the school system itself.
Now, the P.E.I. Horticultural Council, an umbrella organization representing the province's fruit and vegetable growers, wants to become part of that effort. The council is currently in the process of the setting up a three- year pilot project aimed at increasing the amount of P.E.I. fruits and vegetables served in educational institutions. There is an agricultural component in the Grade 3 curriculum and they hope to work to co-ordinate the fresh product available in the cafteria with what is being studied in the classroom. If successful, the long term result will be fresh P.E.I. fruit and vegetables being consumed by students who have learned about how the product is grown.
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