University of California, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Suite A

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Cooperative Extension

University of California, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Suite A

U.S. Department of Agriculture and Modesto, CA 95358

Stanislaus County, cooperating (209) 525-6800

Week of March 16, 2009 Anne Schellman, Horticulture Associate

HARVEST OF THE MONTH

Many people are familiar with University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) programs in the areas of 4-H Youth Development and Agriculture and Natural Resources. This article introduces the program area of Family Nutrition Services.

Last summer Theresa Spezzano (M.S. Nutrition) began working in Stanislaus County as the UCCE Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences Advisor. One of her programs involves reaching out to schools to provide educational materials on nutrition and health. Recently, she decided to implement a program called “Harvest of the Month” which introduces students to a new fruit or vegetable each month.

The idea behind the program is to expose children to fruits and vegetables they may not have tried before. While tasting the new food at school, students also learn about its history, nutritional value and what a serving size looks like among other things. See the following website for more information: http://www.harvestofthemonth.com/product-list.asp.

So far, we have used produce donated from local Wal-Mart and Save Mart stores. We appreciate these generous donations and are looking for more, as we must provide at least 300 students with a sample to try on a monthly basis. Also, our program is growing and we expect to have more children participate during the 2008-2009 school year.

We deliver produce to each school by the same date each month for consistency. If you know you will have extra produce after your harvest and would like to make a donation, please contact Anne Schellman at (209) 525-6824 to see if your produce matches our needs. We have limited storage facilities and would need to pick up or have the produce delivered close to the date when we will be handing it out.

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