"Eww" and "Yuck" came the replies as students watched their science teacher chew and swallow the vegetable.

Many of them, who are between the ages of 10 and 13, had never witnessed the growth of the vegetable, while others had never tasted one.

Lack of exposure to fresh fruits and vegetables is something Cherry and others at the school noticed among the middle school students. To help show that there are healthier snack options, the school applied for and was awarded a grant that provides healthy snacks to students.

The school is tucked away in an affluent West Meade neighborhood. But a lot of the students had bad diets, regularly snacking on potato chips, candy and cookies.

At home, eighth-grader Brayden Stewart rarely eats healthy foods.

"Junk food is really all I eat, and maybe sometimes oranges," the 13-year-old said.

And it’s not uncommon for eighth-grader Kiebron Negasi to have a diet of processed foods, his favorite being chocolate chip cookies as a snack after school.

Initiatives are launched

The consumption of processed foods among school-age children is spurring "healthy initiatives" like the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program at H.G. Hill Middle.

With the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the school received a grant of nearly $50,000 to provide healthy snacks of cherry tomatoes, blackberries, pears and other foods to the 400-plus students during the school year.

In many areas, there are no grocery stores nearby that offer reasonably priced healthy food options. Many of the students are used to their fruits and vegetables in cans, Cherry said. "The parents don’t have access to those healthy foods, and they’re limited to canned foods that are not fresh," he said.

At first, the students were a little unsure when the carts of blueberries, strawberries and broccoli wheeled into their classrooms, and Cherry has the pictures to prove it.

The teacher’s photos, taken the first day of the new program, show the middle-schoolers hesitating. They stand back from the cart, their hands held protectively close.

"At first I was kind of confused," said eighth-grader Latazia Carter.

"I thought they were going to pass out junk food," Brayden admitted.

But over time, the students got used to seeing the cart with the fresh fruits and vegetables.

Carolyn Dillahay, cafeteria manager at the school, said she has already seen the success of the program among the students.

The offering of healthier food options "opens their eyes and lets them know that there are good snacks out there," Dillahay said, watching as a teacher wheeled into the cafeteria an almost-empty cart that held the fruits and veggies.

The plums seem to be less popular among the students, but strawberries go quickly, as do the peaches and nectarines.

"Seeing how well they’ve accepted it is what does it for me," Dillahay said.

Contact Leah Caudle at 615-259-8066 or lcaudle@tennessean.com.

Source: tennessean.com