TRENTON – As part of the Christie Administration’s continuing efforts to provide improved nutritional opportunities for school children, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today announced 158 New Jersey schools will participate in the 2014-2015 school year’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP).
The United States Department of Agriculture has allocated $4,021,620 for New Jersey for next school year’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides fresh produce to students during the school day, along with nutrition education. The goal of the program is to expose children to healthy foods, increase their fruit and vegetable consumption and set them on the road to improved lifelong dietary habits.
For the first time, the Department of Agriculture will provide additional funds to schools for connecting their FFVP with the Farm to School Program. The schools must provide Jersey Fresh produce a minimum of two days each month from September to November and from April to June and must verify where the produce was grown. Eighty percent of the 158 schools have agreed to participate.
“The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable funds will be used to buy Jersey Fresh produce when it’s in season,” said Secretary Fisher. “In addition to students eating healthy local fresh produce and learning about the food we grow right here in the Garden State, our farmers will benefit.”
Starting in September, the selected schools will begin to offer fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis free to 74,475 students in 15 New Jersey counties each week.
Some of the criteria used in selecting the schools to participate included: Elementary schools with 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced price meals; schools that planned to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables as much as possible; the program would be well-publicized and all students would have access to the produce offered; and plans to partner with outside organizations to enhance nutrition education.
The schools that will participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for the 2014-2015 school year are:
Atlantic County
Chelsea Heights School, Atlantic City
Martin Luther King School, Atlantic City
Pennsylvania Avenue School, Atlantic City
Richmond Avenue School, Atlantic City
Sovereign Avenue School, Atlantic City
Texas Avenue School, Atlantic City
Uptown Complex, Atlantic City
Venice Park School, Atlantic City
Decatur Avenue Head Start, Pleasantville
Leeds Avenue School, Pleasantville
North Main Street School, Pleasantville
South Main Street School, Pleasantville
Washington Avenue School, Pleasantville
Burlington County
Captain James Lawrence Elementary School, Burlington
Camden County
Forest Hill School, Camden
McGraw Elementary School, Camden
Sharp Elementary, Camden
Sumner Elementary, Camden
Veterans Memorial School, Camden
Holy Name School, Camden
LEAP Academy University Charter School, Camden
Stem Elementary School, Camden
Burling Elementary School, Pennsauken
Carson Elementary School, Pennsauken
Cape May
Glenwood Avenue Elementary School, Wildwood
Glenwood Avenue Annex School, Wildwood
Woodbine Elementary School, Woodbine
Cumberland County
Broad Street School, Bridgeton
Buckshutem Road School, Bridgeton
Cherry Street School, Bridgeton
Foster Early Childhood Center, Bridgeton
Indian Avenue School, Bridgeton
Quarter Mile Lane School, Bridgeton
West Avenue School, Bridgeton
Haleyville-Mauricetown School, Commercial Township
Silver Run Elementary School, Millville
Wood Elementary School, Millville
Dane Barse School, Vineland
Edward R. Johnston School, Vineland
Max Leuchter Elementary School, Vineland
Gloria M. Sabater Elementary School, Vineland
Essex County
Althea Gibson Early Childhood Academy, East Orange
Benjamin Banneker Academy, East Orange
Cicely L. Tyson Elementary School, East Orange
Ecole Toussaint Louverture, East Orange
Edward T. Bowser School of Excellence, East Orange
Gordon Parks Academy, East Orange
George Washington Carver Institute, East Orange
Jackson Academy, East Orange
Mildred Barry Garvin School, East Orange
Our Lady Help-Christians School, East Orange
Wahlstrom Early Child Academy, East Orange
Whitney Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, East Orange
Burch Elementary School, Irvington
Florence Avenue School, Irvington
Grove Street School, Irvington
Maria Varisco Rogers Charter School, Newark
BRICK Avon Academy, Newark
Fourteenth Avenue School, Newark
Hawkins Street School, Newark
Hawthorne Avenue School, Newark
McKinley School, Newark
New Park Elementary School, Newark
Quitman Street Community School, Newark
South 17th Street School, Newark
Sussex Avenue Renew School, Newark
Newark Educators Community Charter School, Newark
Seek Academy, Newark
Spark Academy, Newark
Thrive Academy, Newark
Cleveland Street Elementary School, Orange
Orange Early Childhood Center, Orange
Park Avenue Elementary School, Orange
Rosa Parks School, Orange
Washington Elementary School, West Orange
Gloucester County
Evergreen Avenue School, Woodbury
Hudson County
East Newark Public School, East Newark
Anna L. Klein School, Guttenberg
Hamilton School, Harrison
Connor Elementary School, Hoboken
Alexander Sullivan PS #30, Jersey City
Charles DeFuccio School #39, Jersey City
Joseph Brensinger School #17, Jersey City
Julia Barnes School #12, Jersey City
PS #20, Jersey City
Whitney Young School #15, Jersey City
Colin Powell School, Union City
Jefferson School, Union City
Robert Waters School, Union City
Roosevelt School, Union City
Thomas A. Edison School, Union City
Veterans Memorial School, Union City
Washington School, Union City
Hudson Early Childhood Center, West New York
Public School #5, West New York
Mercer County
Columbus Elementary School, Trenton
Greenwood Elementary, Hamilton
Grant Elementary, Trenton
Robbins School, Trenton
Stokes School Early Learning Center, Trenton
Middlesex County
Anthony V. Ceres School, Perth Amboy
Monmouth County
Bradley Elementary, Asbury Park
Thurgood Marshall School, Asbury Park
Audrey W. Clark School, Long Branch
Lenna E. Conrow, Long Branch
Morris Avenue School, Long Branch
West End School, Long Branch
Ocean County
Bnos Melech, Lakewood
Bnos Bina Girls School, Lakewood
Bnot Yisereal, Lakewood
Cheder Toras Zev, Lakewood
Congregation Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon, Lakewood
Clifton Avenue Grade School, Lakewood
Ella G. Clarke Elementary School, Lakewood
LECC 1, 2 & 3, Lakewood
Oak Street School, Lakewood
Spruce Street School, Lakewood
Talmud Torah Zecher Yochanan, Lakewood
Passaic County
School #12, Clifton
Daniel F. Ryan School #19, Passaic
Grant School #7, Passaic
Pulaski School #8, Passaic
School #5, Passaic
Vincent Capuana #15, Passaic
Norman S. Weir School, Paterson
School #2, Paterson
School #3, Patterson
School #4, Paterson
School #8, Paterson
School #9, Paterson
School #15, Paterson
School #19, Paterson
School #28, Paterson
Community Charter School of Paterson Argus Mill, Paterson
Community Charter School of Paterson, Paterson
Community Charter School of Paterson Kindergarten, Paterson
Edward W. Kilpatrick, Paterson
Madison K Center, Paterson
Paterson A&S Elementary, Paterson
Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology, Paterson
Prospect Park School, Prospect Park
Salem County
Paul W. Carlton Elementary, Penns Grove
John Fenwick School, Salem City
Union County
Elmora #12, Elizabeth
Donald Stewart ECC #51, Elizabeth
Dr. Albert Einstein Academy, Elizabeth
George Washington School #1, Elizabeth
Iprep Academy #8, Elizabeth
Juan Pablo Duarte School #28, Elizabeth
Nicholas Butler Anne
Nicholas La Corte School #3, Elizabeth
Nicholas Murray Butler School, Elizabeth
Robert Morris #18, Elizabeth
Winfield Scott School #2, Elizabeth
Clinton k-5 Center, Plainfield
Evergreen, Plainfield
Jefferson Elementary School, Plainfield
Woodland Elementary School, Plainfield
Harrison Elementary School, Roselle
To learn more about the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NJDeptofAgriculture and www.facebook.com/JerseyFreshOfficial or Twitter @NJDA1.
Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture
