YUMA, ARIZONA- On October 2, 2014, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced nearly $118 million in grants to strengthen markets for specialty crops, such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops. The grants were authorized through the 2014 Farm Bill as part of an effort to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and provide resources to strengthen American agriculture.
One of the recipients of the grant was POWer Fresh Kids, based in Yuma, Arizona. POWer Fresh Kids is co-owned by fresh produce grower Victor Smith who owns a product called POWer PLAY'te. Thanks to the USDA specialty crop block grant, over 100,000 Arizona students, in over 200 schools, were treated to a POWer PLAY'te week during National Nutrition Month. Students in Yuma, Wellton, Dateland, Tucson, Mesa, Scottsdale, Lakeside, Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona and several other smaller Arizona communities not only ate on POWer PLAY'tes but also received "Crop of the Day" activities for broccoli, red apple and carrots. In addition, each of their families received a colorful flyer reminding them to encourage their children to fill half their plates with fruits and vegetables and eat them. Cafeterias also received colorful, kid-friendly posters encouraging healthy eating.
POWer Fresh Kids encourage students to eat more fruits and vegetables using fun, kid-friendly tools. The POWer PLAY'te program offers a paper plate modeled after the USDA Choose My Plate graphic that encourages kids to fill half their PLAY'te with fruits and vegetables. Schools have increased fresh produce options for both school breakfast and school lunches under the new USDA guidelines; however, they need additional support to ensure children are eating what is provided to them.
Victor Smith owns JV Smith Companies and also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Western Growers Association, a national trade association. JV Smith Companies grows conventional and organic leafy greens and other produce in Arizona; California; Colorado and in Baja California, Mexico. Smith has a passion for promoting healthy habits and takes a proactive approach to sharing the message of the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. "Reaching this captive audience during school lunch is invaluable. This small window in time allows us an opportunity to partner with the school nutrition managers in a fresh new way and provides them with new tools to be advocates in the efforts to promote healthy eating habits," Smith stated.
"We believe strongly in approaching nutrition education much in the same way that we do literacy education…let's get these kids excited about eating healthy first," Kristan Sheppeard, co-owner and previous elementary school teacher stated. "We have observed in many of the school cafeterias and have seen first-hand that kids are trying new fruits and vegetables when they are presented to them in a fun, kid-friendly manner," added co-owner Susan Sternitzke.
For more information about JV Smith Companies and POWer PLAY'tes, visit www.jvsmithcompanies.com and www.powerplaytes.com.
The Arizona Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Consultation and Training has funded all or a portion of this Project using Specialty Crop Block Grant funds provided by the USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service.
Source: JV Smith Companies
